Have you ever been at an electronics store and heard some type of alarm go off as someone tried to exit? Even though a store security system isn't comparable with regard to its level of technology, the principle is similar to the workings of the Sentry 8501 Portal Radiation Monitor.

The Sentry, manufactured by JRT Associates, is a passive, non-intrusive gamma radiation detection device useful to hospitals, emergency response and waste monitoring applications. The system offers visual and audio alarms and records the date, time and location of detection; identifies the radioactive material; photographs the event; and can provide notification to a remote observation authority -- by email, LAN or telephone -- all within two seconds. The system is capable of independent monitoring of up to nine areas simultaneously.

About 15 units have been installed to date, according to JRT Associates President Ted Rubel. "The first unit was installed about two years ago," says Rubel. "Initially, the product started as just an idea to address the issue of dealing with radioactive materials, and it took off from there."

The device has settings to allow people with little or no training in radiation safety to use it. For example, it can be set so that people transporting medical isotopes won't set it off. This translates to an extra checkpoint of safety for hospitals as well as waste sites -- areas where there's a potential for radioactive materials to be present.

"In this day and age, with concerns about dirty bombs and other intentional introduction of radioactive materials into a public setting, safeguards are crucial. If a major dirty bomb were to go off, some experts believe smaller ones would go off at local hospitals, so our Sentry 8501 is one component that may help prevent that type of catastrophe from occurring," Rubel says.

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