Securing Radiological Sources on the Go

Golden Security Services will produce the system and make it available to companies that manage the estimated thousands of radiological sources internationally. Golden Security Services has an exclusive license to commercialize the technology in Latin America — Mexico, Central America and South America — and non-exclusive rights to the technology in the United States and Canada.

“We are very excited to have several contracts already in place in Latin America to deploy this technology, and an overwhelming interest from a broad range of companies that are looking for a cost-effective solution to protect their radiological sources across the region,” said Juan Bernal, CEO at Golden Security Services. “PNNL’s technology is a valuable addition to our portfolio of products and services designed to provide physical protection to radioactive materials around the world.”

An oil well mapping truck can travel several hundred miles from its home base. The radiological sources are shielded in specialized casks and moved in trucks that meet Department of Transportation requirements. MSTS sensor technology and associated software can determine when a radiological source moves from where it’s supposed to be and alerts officials. Components of the system work together to control and secure the sources from home base to the field and back.

The MSTS can also detect changes in radiation levels, which can indicate a source has been taken from its shielding cask. Likewise, a master control unit monitors sensors and runs decision processing software to detect any tampering with or removal of the radiological material. Global Positioning Systems track the location of the transport vehicle to and from the job site. All data are available to system users through a custom MSTS software.

PNNL partnered with Baker Hughes, an international oil field services company, to understand the issues and balance operational needs with national security concerns.

PNNL notes that NNSA’s Office of Radiological Security, whose mission is to protect, remove and reduce industrial radiological sources, completed more than a dozen deployments of MSTS in the United States and is now assisting international partners in securing their mobile radiological sources. Golden Security Services is part of that effort.

“Seeing actual products go out in the field feels good,” said PNNL’s Kurt Silvers, who is a lead engineer with the MSTS project. “We developed and then made these systems more rugged to withstand the elements on jobsites.” 

Software engineer and team lead Brion Burghard added, “It’s gratifying to see Golden Security Services take our technology and software to the next level and make MSTS available to companies who desire a better way to protect the radiological material they are responsible for.”