Muon Fluence Measurements for Homeland Security Applications

This report focuses on work conducted at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to better characterize aspects of backgrounds in RPMs deployed for homeland security purposes. Two polyvinyl toluene scintillators were utilized with supporting NIM electronics to measure the muon coincidence rate. Muon spallation is one mechanism by which background neutrons are produced. The measurements performed concentrated on a broad investigation of the dependence of the muon flux on a) variations in solid angle subtended by the detector; b) the detector inclination with the horizontal; c) depth underground; and d) diurnal effects. These tests were conducted inside at Building 318/133, outdoors at Building 331G, and underground at Building 3425 at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory