JUNE 2025 NEWSWIRE

Editor’s note:
June 2025 was a month where radiation detection sat quietly inside bigger stories: customs modernization, non-intrusive inspection standards, accelerator upgrades, and environmental monitoring. RPMs and large-scale scanners continue to be treated as part of integrated border-security architectures; at the same time, research groups are modernizing radiation-monitoring systems for demanding environments, from particle accelerators to low Earth orbit. Citizen-science and regulatory-capacity projects show that “who monitors radiation” is broadening – not just what hardware is deployed.

Border Security & Customs

Thermo Fisher fixed RPM contract underlines modernization of customs fleets
A global market report on Fixed Radiation Portal Monitors (RPMs) notes that in June 2025, Thermo Fisher Scientific secured a major contract to supply fixed RPMs to a national customs agency. While the report does not name the country, it explicitly flags this June 2025 deal as one of the near-term growth drivers in the RPM segment, alongside earlier contracts by Mirion and collaborations such as Kromek–RADOS. oai_citation:0‡WiseGuy Reports
For vendors and integrators, the message is familiar: customs agencies are not only replacing aging gantries but increasingly standardizing around a smaller set of long-term partners for portals, software, and lifecycle support.

WCO NII Guidelines (June 2025): radiation detection as a core customs tool
The World Customs Organization (WCO) released updated Guidelines for the Procurement and Deployment of Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) Equipment dated June 2025. The document explicitly names radiation detection equipment within the SAFE Framework’s Customs-to-Customs pillar and gives detailed guidance on procurement, radiation safety, acceptance testing and lifecycle management of NII systems that use ionizing radiation. oai_citation:1‡WCOOMD
For border agencies, this effectively serves as a “how to buy and operate” playbook for large X-ray and gamma-based scanners – pushing administrations to consider radiation safety, regulatory engagement and vendor quality systems (ISO 9001 / 27001) from the earliest tender stages.

UFF 3.0.0: interoperability standard for NII systems, including RPMs
In late June 2025, WCO News highlighted UFF 3.0.0, a new WCO-sponsored standard to harmonize the way non-intrusive inspection systems exchange images and data. The article explicitly lists Radiation Portal Monitors among the NII equipment types it aims to help integrate. oai_citation:2‡WCO News
UFF 3.0.0 matters for RPMs because it pushes the ecosystem toward interoperable formats, easier centralization of image/scan analysis, and better cross-border data sharing – all prerequisites for AI-based threat detection and regional risk-management centers.

CarView InLane scanners at Ysleta Port of Entry
On 2 June 2025, OSI Systems’ Rapiscan AS&E reported deployment of CarView InLane scanners at the Ysleta Port of Entry (El Paso, US–Mexico border). The system provides rapid drive-through non-intrusive inspection of passenger vehicles, aimed primarily at narcotics and contraband detection, and is part of Rapiscan’s broader portfolio that includes X-ray and radiation detection technologies. oai_citation:3‡Rapiscan AS&E
Operationally, this illustrates how NII upgrades at land borders increasingly mix high-throughput lanes, imaging, and (where configured) integrated radiation sensors into a single traffic-management concept.

US–Canada “Northern Border 2025” brief: detection capacity called out explicitly
A Canadian government briefing on Northern Border security notes that from January to June 2025, US authorities seized large quantities of narcotics destined for Canada and highlights investments in detection capacity, including X-ray devices and other technologies deployed at northern border crossings. oai_citation:4‡Connect2Canada
While the document focuses on narcotics rather than nuclear material, it reinforces the point that high-end detection infrastructure (where radiation detection is often an available subsystem) is becoming a standard expectation at major crossings – not a niche.

Nuclear Security & Safeguards

IAEA Nuclear Security Report 2025: emphasis on detection systems and cyber
The IAEA Nuclear Security Report 2025, covering the period 1 July 2024 – 30 June 2025, underlines several themes relevant to radiation detection: strengthening computer security for radiation detection systems, support to States in deploying detection architectures for major public events, and providing radiation detection equipment as part of nuclear security measures at international conferences. oai_citation:5‡IAEA
For practitioners, this confirms that nuclear security is no longer only about “more devices” – but about secure, maintainable, and well-governed detection networks linked to law-enforcement and emergency-response frameworks.

Policy framing: radiation detection in WCO SAFE and customs risk management
The June 2025 WCO NII Guidelines sit within a broader ecosystem where nuclear security and customs facilitation intersect. The SAFE Framework explicitly requires outbound inspection of high-risk containers, preferably using NII equipment, and identifies radiation detection as a core component of that toolset. oai_citation:6‡WCOOMD
In practice, this means that radiation detection is increasingly written into customs policy at the level of standards and guidelines, not just individual projects or grants.

Technology & R&D

Advancements in radiation detection for nuclear security showcased at ANS 2025
At the 2025 ANS Annual Conference (June 2025), a paper titled “Recent advancements in radiation detection technology for nuclear security” (Pozzi et al.) surveyed progress in detectors, algorithms and system concepts for nuclear security applications. oai_citation:7‡InfoScience
Although the detailed content is behind conference proceedings, the framing reflects ongoing work on higher-resolution detectors, better background rejection, and integrated systems designed specifically for security scenarios (search, interdiction, wide-area monitoring).

Modernization of automated radiation monitoring at U400M cyclotron (IPAC’25)
At IPAC’25 (Taipei, 1–6 June 2025), a contribution described the deep modernization of the Automated Radiation Monitoring System (ARMS) for the U400M cyclotron at the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions. The upgraded ARMS is being developed to handle new facilities and higher intensity beams, combining automated dose-rate measurements with more capable data acquisition and alarm handling. oai_citation:8‡JACoW (Indico)
While this sits in the research accelerators domain, it’s directly relevant to vendors working on robust monitoring systems in complex radiation fields, where uptime, integration and data quality matter as much as detector sensitivity.

Radiation monitoring system for the Super Tau Charm Facility test platform
A second IPAC’25 contribution focuses on the radiation monitoring system for the Super Tau Charm Facility – Beam Test Platform (STCF-BTP). The system is designed to measure dose rates in a complex mixed-field environment and integrates data collection, storage and alarm functions into a single architecture. oai_citation:9‡JACoW (Indico)
The STCF-BTP work is another example of “industrial-grade” monitoring solutions being designed at the accelerator-physics frontier – solutions that can later inform monitoring architectures in nuclear facilities and high-risk industrial sites.

High-resolution space radiation monitoring with Timepix3 on OneWeb JoeySat
At ESA’s SPACEMON 2025 workshop (11–13 June 2025), one contribution presented high-resolution space radiation monitoring using MPX-Timepix3 dosimetry on the OneWeb JoeySat satellite in low Earth orbit. oai_citation:10‡Indico at ESA / ESTEC (Indico)
The work combines fine-grained spatial and energy resolution with wide dynamic range, illustrating how modern pixel detectors are pushing radiation monitoring capabilities in harsh environments – and providing a testbed for data-rich detection concepts that may eventually influence terrestrial systems as well.

Market & Policy Signals

Fixed RPM market: steady growth with 2025 as an inflection point
Market analysis of the Fixed Radiation Portal Monitor segment estimates a global market size of about US$1.28B in 2025, with forecasts to reach around US$2.5B by 2035 (roughly mid-single-digit CAGR). Drivers include government regulation, nuclear-security concerns, and demand in border security and waste management. oai_citation:11‡WiseGuy Reports
June-tagged contracts such as the Thermo Fisher customs deal sit within this broader pattern: incremental, policy-driven spending rather than boom-and-bust cycles – but on a steadily rising baseline.

US OIG report (June 2025) criticizes under-utilization of large NII systems
An Office of Inspector General (OIG) report released 30 June 2025 highlights that US Customs and Border Protection purchased 150 large-scale NII systems between 2020–2024 but had installed only a fraction by mid-2025, with some systems still in storage and a few unaccounted for. The report also mentions issues such as integration and interference with other systems. oai_citation:12‡Latin Times
For radiation-detection stakeholders, this is a reminder that procurement alone does not guarantee capability: installation, integration, utilisation, and governance of complex NII/RPM fleets remain serious operational challenges.

Environmental & Citizen-Led Monitoring

Citizen science in radioactivity measurement: RadoNorm workshop, Brussels
On 4 June 2025, the workshop “Citizen Science in Radioactivity Measurement: Empowering Europeans for better Environmental Monitoring” took place at the Maison Irène et Frédéric Joliot-Curie in Brussels. A report from the RadoNorm project (11 June 2025) describes how citizen-science initiatives in radioactivity measurement are collaborating to improve long-term sustainability and integration of citizen-generated data into policy. oai_citation:13‡radonorm.eu
For the radiation-monitoring community, this is noteworthy: detection is no longer just the domain of regulators and utilities; citizen networks and low-cost detectors are becoming part of the environmental monitoring landscape.

SHENA–OAP visit: building environmental radiation monitoring capacity in Southeast Asia
The Safety, Health and Environment National Authority (SHENA) of Brunei reported a scientific visit to the Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP) in Bangkok held 9–13 June 2025, aimed at strengthening environmental radiation monitoring governance and implementation. oai_citation:14‡shena.gov.bn
This kind of bilateral technical exchange is modest in visibility but important in substance: it helps smaller regulators design monitoring networks, clarify roles, and adopt best practices in environmental radiation surveillance.

What June 2025 Tells Us

• Standards and guidelines are catching up with reality. WCO’s June 2025 NII Guidelines and the UFF 3.0.0 standard show that customs, trade facilitation and nuclear security are converging around interoperable, radiation-aware NII architectures.
• Modernization beats greenfield. From customs RPM contracts to ARMS upgrades at accelerators, most activity is about upgrading and integrating existing systems – not building entirely new ones from scratch.
• Data and interoperability are becoming central features. Whether it’s UFF 3.0.0, Timepix3-based space dosimetry or accelerator monitoring systems, the focus is on richer data, better integration and more sophisticated alarm logic, not just “more sensitive detectors”.
• Capability gaps are increasingly organizational, not technical. The June 2025 OIG report on under-used NII systems illustrates that procurement without deployment, staffing and governance can leave expensive detection assets idle.
• Radiation monitoring is broadening socially as well as technically. Citizen-science initiatives (RadoNorm) and regional regulator exchanges (SHENA–OAP) suggest that who measures radiation – and how those measurements are used – is becoming more distributed and participatory.