Radio frequency identification devices already track everything from Wal-Mart inventory to missing pets and busloads of NFL players during the Super Bowl.
Now scientists at the Argonne National Laboratory have created an RFID tracking system to keep a close watch on storage and transportation of nuclear materials.
The tags not only monitor the condition of the nuclear materials, they also track environmental and physical changes to the packages. The system sends real-time alerts during storage and transportation, says Yung Liu, a senior nuclear engineer and RFID project manager at Argonne.
"The Argonne system can simultaneously monitor thousands of drums in real time," says Liu. "If there’s any abnormal situation like a sudden shock, it triggers an alarm and sends real-time alerts that can be immediately investigated."
In the last decade RFID has gained popularity as a leading technology among companies to track and manage products. Retailer Wal-Mart has been a major supporter of the technology and has asked 300 of its top suppliers to put RFID tags on their shipping crates.
RFID tags usually contain an integrated circuit for storing and processing information, an RF signal modulator and an antenna. Active RFID tags, like the kind used by Argonne, also contain a battery that allows them to transmit signals.
Nuclear materials are usually transported in drums — similar to large beer kegs — that are securely sealed. Unlike most commercial RFID tags that generally have no memory, Liu’s team developed tags that include non-volatile memory to store sensor logs. They also have extended battery life. Commercial RFID tags can last for three or four years, but the Argonne system’s tags have long-life batteries that give it a life of more than 10 years.
Before attaching the RFID tags to the drum, an encrypted manifest of the drum is entered into the tag’s memory. The tags are also connected to seal sensors that can detect changes to pressure and temperature among other things. Any change triggers an alert that is immediately investigated, says Liu. (Here’s a video of how the system works.)
The data on the status and history of each container is available on a secure site and can be integrated into the U.S. Department of Energy’s existing systems for tracking nuclear materials.
A recent dry run with 14 drums over 1700 miles proved the effectiveness of the system, says Liu.
"The DOE is looking to consolidate its nuclear materials from different test sites so this is a good way to ensure the proper security and storage of the materials," says Liu.
See also:
With No Long-Term Solution, Nuclear Pallbearers Bury Waste in America’s Backyard
Photo: Argonne National Laboratory’s Yung Liu with a nuclear material transport drum/ANL
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