ORNL’s Angie Lousteau sweeps for radioactive materials among the crowd at the Kentucky Derby in May 2022. Credit: Angie Lousteau/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Large gatherings such as the Super Bowl or a presidential inauguration bringing together tens of thousands of people set the stage, literally, for a memorable shared experience. However, they require a lot of planning and heightened security to keep participants safe.
Behind the scenes, authorities work to ensure the crowd is protected from predictable threats. That work includes searches for radioactive material. Steve Cleveland and Angela Lousteau, nuclear experts from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, regularly participate in teams deployed to sweep large venues before events.
At ORNL, the researchers study the radioactive signatures of nuclear material and how nuclear material can be located, identified and even quantified using modern sensors. They also volunteer with the Department of Energy’s Radiological Assistance Program, or RAP, the nation’s premier first-response resource for mitigating hazards from radiological or nuclear incidents. RAP Region 2 is led by the Y-12 National Security Complex and contracts with ORNL to provide additional mission support. Cleveland, Lousteau and other ORNL colleagues support RAP.
“Along with supporting U.S. regional preparedness activities, the RAP team focuses on two primary mission spaces,” said Lousteau, group leader for Nondestructive Measurement Science and Technology. “The first mission, consequence management, involves characterizing the extent of a radiological or nuclear incident, assessing the hazards and providing recommendations to preserve the health and safety of the public.
“The second mission, crisis response, focuses on counterterrorism response. In support of other federal partners like the FBI or DHS, crisis response includes support for special events where teams strategically monitor large crowds and surrounding areas to detect the presence of radiological or nuclear materials that could be used for nefarious purposes.”
Cleveland and Lousteau regularly join local, state and federal organizations to sweep venues and monitor crowds for radioactive substances. They travel around the country, most recently helping with the Final Four tournament in New Orleans and the Kentucky Derby in Louisville. “We searched and swept the Superdome,” said Cleveland, acting group leader for Material Security and Counterproliferation. “Every nook and cranny of the entire stadium was swept with radiation sensors looking for any possible risk.”
In the five years since Cleveland joined RAP, he has attended events for monitoring, though one time he responded to a consequence management crisis in Seattle to evaluate the extent of an inadvertent contamination of cesium-137 into the ventilation system in a building. He spent two and a half weeks mitigating the hazard. The team has supported cleanup of major disasters, such as 9/11 and the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and surprise incidents such as the discovery of radioactive material under a residential street in New Orleans in 2019.
There are two components to sweeping large events. Before spectators arrive, venues and surrounding areas are evaluated using an array of detection equipment. Field teams assess assigned areas with handheld mobile detectors able to locate and identify tiny traces of radioactive material. Data is transmitted to a tactical operations center where scientists monitor field data in real time for suspicious or potentially harmful materials. The field team then transitions to monitoring the crowd, using detectors to pick up new sources of hazardous material.
Positive detections usually come from people with radioactive medical treatments. At the 2022 Final Four event, Cleveland was part of the detection team who alerted law enforcement of six people who needed to be tracked down amid a sea of thousands to verify their situation through a medical card or a call to a doctor.
Lousteau has also experienced radioactive alarms caused by medical treatments. At the Kentucky Derby parade in 2019, someone sitting along the parade route had a positive reading.
“As we were sweeping the parade route,” she said, “suddenly all the detectors went crazy. With the support of local law enforcement, we were able to pinpoint the source of radiation and confirm the person’s recent radioactive medical treatment through a medical card.”
Louisville has been the central location of Lousteau’s RAP team experience so far. She completed the required certification training as Health Physics Support Personnel, or what she calls “boots on the ground responsible for collecting measurement data,” in April 2019. Lousteau worked the Kentucky Derby the following May and again in 2022. Former President Donald Trump was in attendance, which meant additional layers of security and protocols that gave Lousteau an altogether different experience.
She saw how the Secret Service influenced the security plans and how the intensity of the security posture overall was heightened. Derby day was particularly long, starting at 7 a.m. and continuing through the evening until President Trump left the premises. Despite being on her feet all day, Lousteau enjoyed the experience. People-watching at the Kentucky Derby is some of the best, she said.
Also in Kentucky, she worked Thunder Over Louisville, the largest annual fireworks event in the United States.
Lousteau loves everything about being on the RAP team, respecting the gravity of the situation. So far, she has enjoyed the opportunity to join the team of local and federal professionals who each play a role in keeping the public safe. The probability of a radioactive incident occurring at a public event is extremely low, but the consequence of a nuclear or radiological incident would be unfathomable, she said.
Lousteau and Cleveland are proud to be RAP team members. Both researchers eagerly step up for RAP team deployments when needed. “I'm just passionate about trying to make the world a safer place,” said Cleveland.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science. — Liz Neunsinger
