title: Radiation dose equivalent to stowaways in vehicles.
abstract: The U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection has deployed a large number of non-intrusive inspection (NII) systems at land border crossings and seaports throughout the United States to inspect cars, trucks, and sea containers. These NII systems use x rays and gamma rays for the detection of contraband. Unfortunately, undocumented aliens infrequently stow away in these same conveyances to illegally enter the United States. It is extremely important that the radiation dose equivalent imparted to these stowaways be within acceptable limits. This paper discusses the issues involved and describes a protocol the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection has used in a study to measure and document these levels. The results of this study show that the radiation dose equivalent to the stowaways from the deployed NII systems is negligibly small and does not pose a health hazard.
authors.affiliation: Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 1575, Washington, DC 20229, USA. siraj.m.khan@dhs.gov
authors.forename: Siraj M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Paul E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Nicholas
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Terpilak
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001822:Body Burden; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D004869:Equipment Safety / Q000379:methods; D005720:Gamma Rays; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018986:Motor Vehicles; D009502:Neutrons; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000379:methods; D011874:Radiometry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D011890:Railroads; D012062:Relative Biological Effectiveness; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012637:Security Measures; D014965:X-Rays