Training Options
Flexible training for nuclear security professionalsNSSPI offers a range of flexible training options designed to meet the needs of diverse audiences, from students and technical professionals to first responders and security personnel.
Training Formats
NSSPI designs and delivers customizable training programs in radiation detection, nuclear security, search and localization, working in contaminated environments, and nuclear forensics. Offerings range from short workshops to multi-day integrated exercises and can be tailored for technical staff, first responders, border-security personnel, regulators, students, and partner institutions.
Classroom Instruction
Marine / Port Training
Customized Workshops
Laboratory Practicum
Field Exercises
Capabilities and Equipment
Classroom and Instructional Support
- Learning spaces available for different sized groups and formats
- Appropriate audio/visual equipment
- Option to support simultaneous interpretation
Laboratory Capabilities
NSSPI maintains seven laboratory workstations equipped for hands-on radiation detection and measurement training.
- High-purity germanium detectors for high-resolution gamma spectroscopy
- Gas detectors: ion chambers, proportional counters, G-M tubes
- Scintillation detectors: NaI, LaBr, and PVT systems
- Alpha spectrometers
- CdZnTe detectors
Field-deployable detection equipment
- Five different makes of radioisotope identification
devices - Handheld and backpack systems
- Vehicle-mounted mobile detection system
- Equipment comparable to systems used in real operational programs
Radiation sources for training
NSSPI has access to industrial, medical, and special nuclear material radiation sources for classroom and field use. Representative sources include cesium, americium, spectroscopy source sets, californium, uranium materials, reactor-activated materials, AmBe, beta sources, and selected medical or nuclear medicine isotopes, all subject to authorization and exercise-specific approvals.
Field and Marine Exercise Environments
TEEX Disaster City
The TEEX Disaster City® Urban Search and Rescue Training Facility provides a realistic setting for emergency response and radiological training. Facilities include collapsed structures, a five-car train, theater and retail buildings, aircraft training units, and outdoor exercise areas. The site can also support controlled use of short-lived radioactive contamination, allowing realistic detection and response exercises. Classroom space and the Emergency Operations Training Center are available.
RELLIS Campus
The RELLIS Campus offers flexible indoor and outdoor space for technical training and field exercises. Facilities include configurable buildings, houses and barns, a container village with tunnels, former runways for vehicle operations, and more than 100 acres of outdoor space. Selected buildings can support short-lived radioactive contamination exercises, while classroom and conference facilities allow training, field activities, and after-action discussions to be conducted in one location.
Texas A&M University at Galveston
Texas A&M University at Galveston, located on Pelican Island, provides a strong setting for maritime security and emergency response training. The campus offers classroom and conference space, shoreline and island areas for field exercises, the 525-foot TS Lone Star training vessel, and additional Coast Guard-inspected vessels that can support scenario-based maritime exercises. Its location and facilities make TAMUG well suited for training involving port, vessel, and waterfront operations.