Radiation risksSecuring Radiological Sources on the Go

Radioactive materials are a critical tool in a number of industrial applications, particularly oil and gas drilling and welding. While these sources are safe and well-regulated for their intended use; if lost or stolen the materials could be used by terrorists to make dirty bombs. The Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed and licensed a technology system to keep track of and secure radiological material on the road or at jobsites. Golden Security Services of Miami, Florida, will produce and deploy the Mobile Source Transit Security, or MSTS, system starting at several sites in Latin America.

“The system is a first line of defense against radiological terrorism and provides situational awareness if the material is tampered with or moved from where it is supposed to be,” said PNNL MSTS project manager Brian Higgins.

According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, most radiological dispersal devices would not release enough radiation to kill people or cause severe illness. But they certainly could create fear and panic, contaminate property and require potentially costly cleanup. The National Nuclear Security Administration sponsored PNNL to develop the MSTS system to help protect such material from theft, loss, or tampering. 

PNNL notes that radiological sources are commonly used in the oil  and gas industries. These  sources help determine and log geological features of an oil well, such as porosity or proximity to oil. Other devices with radiological material are commonly used for industrial radiography, where devices are used to inspect welds on jobsites. PNNL used its extensive radiological and radio frequency expertise to develop the MSTS system, which consists  of detection devices and radiofrequency tags specifically designed to track the devices that house this radiological material.

“Technology transfer to industry is an important mission of the Laboratory, especially in the area of nuclear security where the consequences can be severe,” said Kannan Krishnaswami, who manages commercialization of national security technologies for PNNL. “Partnering with industry allows for such security solutions to be commercially deployed, allowing PNNL to refocus its efforts on the next generation of scientific and technical challenges.”