Advanced radiation detector design for applications in food safety and national security

We describe a new concept for a radiation detector based on extruded scintillator technology and commercially available solid-state photo-detectors. The detector is simple in construction, robust, very efficient, cost-effective and easily scalable in size from tens of cm2 to tens of m2. We describe two possible applications: flagging radioactive food contamination and detection of illicit radioactive materials, such as those potentially used in a dirty bomb.