Abstract:

The transportation of industrial radiography (IR) gamma cameras occurs daily around the world. These cameras, which contain radioactive material such as Iridium-192, typically originate from a central home base, are transported to field sites for use, and then returned to the home base for secure storage. During both transportation and field use, there is often minimal visibility regarding the cameras’ location and security status.

To address this issue, the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration's (DOE/NNSA) Office of Radiological Security (ORS) has tasked the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with the design, development, and initial deployment of the Mobile Source Transit Security (MSTS) system. Researchers at PNNL collaborated with leading U.S. industry partners to develop a new capability that combines radiation detection, near-field communication (NFC), and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) into a single device. This innovation, known as the TRI-tag (Tamper, Radiation, Identification), offers a smaller and lower-cost solution for tracking radiological devices. The TRI-tag presents an opportunity to improve the adoption of the MSTS solution and expand its user community on a global scale, further supporting U.S. industry.

The MSTS solution extends beyond IR cameras to include transport vehicles and home base storage vaults to help secure and strengthen American industry. The additional components of the MSTS system are a resilient technology providing near-real-time situational awareness throughout the entire job cycle.

Information from the MSTS system is transmitted to the cloud, consolidated, and displayed on the IR Dashboard software, which visualizes the IR cameras' locations. MSTS systems have been operational in the United States for the past five years, during which time they have undergone continuous improvements and design changes based on U.S. industry feedback and to accommodate a rapidly evolving supply chain. Updated and new designs leverage lessons learned from the user community and highlights ORS’s commitment to collaborating with and strengthening the non-destructive testing industry.

With enhanced situational awareness in the MSTS technology, challenges regarding long-term sustainability and system costs have prompted the development team to continue exploring alternative, cost-effective approaches. These upgrades aim to improve sustainability and reduce tracking costs associated with IR cameras.