The IAEA has launched a new app to help frontline officers assess radiation alarms triggered by people at airports, border crossings and other points of entry - and ease delays.

Passing through fixed radiation detection portals at airports has become part of travelers' routines, as well as a standard security precaution. But what happens if an alarm is set off? The priority is to answer the question on why the person triggered an alarm, to understand quickly if there is a nuclear security threat or not.

The new mobile application - the Personnel Alarm Assessment Tool (PAAT) - helps frontline officers, such as customs or law enforcement personnel, make those decisions.

"PAAT is now added to the IAEA suite of science and technology tools available to support countries in implementing nuclear security measures," said Elena Buglova, Director of the IAEA Division of Nuclear Security. "PAAT is another example of the different ways in which the IAEA is working to give countries the technology and training they need to improve their nuclear security measures."

When a radiation alarm is triggered, customs officers or other specialized personnel follow a set procedure to assess the nature of the alarm and determine whether it is an actual security threat or not. In most cases, the alarms are 'innocent' and are set off by people who have recently undergone a medical treatment or a diagnostic procedure that involved the use of radiopharmaceuticals.

PAAT users insert data obtained from a brief interview with the person involved plus a radiation measurement. PAAT includes a catalogue of 70 radiopharmaceuticals used in nuclear medicine, and the measurement plus the interview produces a quantitative assessment of the likely source of the radiation that has been detected. The application tool gives a red, yellow or green signal and provides important and immediate support for frontline officers in the assessment of the radiation source.

The use of PAAT is expected to minimize the time required for this alarm assessment. "PAAT allows for a fast and accurate assessment to reduce unnecessary delay for the person who has undergone a medical procedure and minimize the impact of innocent alarms on normal operations of busy places like airports," added Buglova.

PAAT is part of the overall IAEA toolkit provided to countries to improve radiation detection operations in a variety of scenarios. "The idea behind PAAT is similar to the Tool for Radiation Alarm and Commodity Evaluation (TRACE) mobile application, launched by the IAEA in 2017. The difference is that PAAT is about alarms caused by people, while TRACE is used in cases of alarms caused by vehicles carrying commodities passing through radiation detection portals," said Itimad Soufi, Head of the IAEA's Nuclear Security of Materials Outside of Regulatory Control Section. "Both mobile applications are easy to use and do not collect personal data."

PAAT can be used also for supporting nuclear security measures during major public events, where radiation detection may also result in alarms requiring further assessment.

PAAT is available for download on Apple and Android devices in Arabic, English, French and Spanish.