STELLARRAY INC — Department of Energy SBIR Phase II: C48-04c

Description

The “sterile insect technique” (SIT) has been successfully applied for several decades to control or eradicate insect pests that threaten agricultural crops or human health in the U.S. and around the world. Pest insects are carefully bred at industrial-scale facilities, with the pupae irradiated with just enough dose to render the insects sterile but otherwise healthy when they are grown and released into the environment. They then mate with others of their species but produce no offspring, causing the pest population to decline and in some cases vanish. The problem is that most of the irradiators for this technique employ radioactive Cesium-137 or Cobalt-60, both of which could be used by terrorists in a radiological attack. Most of these irradiators are in remote locations, where providing the necessary security for the isotopes imposes a high administrative and cost burden, thereby limiting the application of the technique. Of the 66 facilities currently in operation, 11 are in the U.S, but most are in less developed countries, including 16 in Africa. Available alternative technologies have been found wanting, including electron beam systems that cannot achieve the required dose uniformity without very high-energy sources that need massive radiation shielding, or point-source x-ray tubes, that cannot provide the required throughput Stellarray will complete it Sterile Insect X-ray Irradiator (SIXI) based on its proprietary flat panel x-ray sources (S-FPXS). These efficiently deliver highly uniform x-ray flux over a broad area, with sustainable operation at high power levels for high throughput. The Stellarray irradiator will use pairs of these panels above and below a conveyor belt transporting the pupae through a self-shielded irradiation chamber, in a system resembling an airport baggage scanner. The system will be modular and scalable to any size insect control operation. It will be designed to use power from any source, including stand-alone generators. Doses can easily be varied for use with any pest species. The Stellarray system will fit seamlessly into the process flow of these industrial-scale operations, and will save the operators several process steps. The S-FPXS panels have been developed to the voltage and current levels needed for SIT operation. The Phase IIB project will improve the fabrication processes for the panels so that they can be produced in the volumes needed for commercial scale operation. The advantages of the SIXI system will be demonstrated in laboratory and deployable prototypes with fully integrated power and control systems. The immediate benefit of this technology will be the deployment of an alternative to radioactive isotopes that present a security hazard, Cesium-137 because it has a long half-life and is made as a dispersible powder, and Cobalt-60 because it is so prevalent. Derivative applications will include phytosanitary sterilization of agricultural products for export markets and the sterilization of other certain other agricultural products where isotope irradiation is either already established or could expand without the viable electrical approach of SIXI. By reducing the security burden to operators, the technology will facilitate the expansion of SIT, which can save billions of dollars of agricultural production and thousands of lives in a way that is ecologically sound (no chemical pesticides) and environmentally benign (no added species).