Promising directions for increasing the efficiency of customs scanning devices

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to summarize and comparative analysis of modern research in the field of scanning equipment for customs, airports and ports. Today, 70 % of scanning devices in the world are based on the use of X-rays. This equipment can significantly reduce the time of customs inspection of goods, but it also has significant drawbacks. Therefore, it is urgent to further search for modern technologies that would become the basis for the development of highly effective modern scanning devices capable of detecting illegal and hazardous materials, such as explosives, chemical weapons, drugs, radioactive materials, and the like during customs inspection of goods. One of the promising areas of introscopy of large loads is muon tomography. The advantages of muon tomography, such as high penetrating power, the absence of additional radiation exposure on personnel and controlled goods and vehicles, the ability to construct a three-dimensional image of the controlled object, and the identification of contraband goods in shielded containers, make it a promising method of introscopy for customs control of bulky cargo. It is important that muons are safe to use and do not pose any risk to human health (unlike, for example, X-rays), and do not harm the environment in any appreciable way. Therefore, their use is not regulated by safety regulations. Muon scanning technology is under development primarily due to poor muon statistics over a short period of time. For customs purposes, space muons can be used as follows: to detect shielded nuclear materials and to identify drugs and explosives. The reason that currently makes it impossible to introduce muon tomographs as an independent means of customs control in the practical activities of customs authorities is the absence of sensitive detector of muon radiation, the search for which is the goal of further research in this area.