As recent as 2019, nuclear or radiological sources located in mobile devices used for industrial applications—such as well logging and industrial radiography—have been stolen or discovered “missing.” In the wrong hands, the haul has the potential to be used in dirty bombs. It’s a global problem that threatens our nation’s and the world’s national security.

In the oil and gas industry, for example, mobile radiological sources are transported to a job site and used during the drilling operation, in a process known as well logging, to locate and predict the flow of new reservoirs. When needed, sources are removed from centrally located vaults and trucked by well-logging companies to far-flung, remote locations across the United States. At the drill site, where multiple crews from varying companies can be present, the radiological source is removed from its shield and lowered by a wire line down the drill hole to determine rock formations and patterns as well as porous formation. After testing and drilling, the radiological source is placed back into its shield and trucked back to the vault for storage. Throughout this process, these sensitive sources have the potential to be damaged, lost, or stolen.    

MSTS—An Ingenious, Secure Tracking Method  

Working with industrial partners, a team of researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has developed a comprehensive remote system that wirelessly and autonomously tracks these valuable radiological sources. Known as Mobile Source Transit Security, or MSTS, the system monitors, records, and reports the status of mobile radioactive sources as they are moved from storage, to the field, and back. The available technology is a cost-effective solution that provides near-real-time monitoring of the radiological source’s location and status. It can even provide early notification to a command center of theft or loss. MSTS, which is available for licensing in different fields of use, comprises five technologies and application software:

• An Electronic Tag (eTag)—Attached to the shielded source container being tracked, the eTag provides tracking status through Bluetooth® to the master control unit (MCU) to monitor the location of the item. Tamper detection is built into the eTag. So, although someone could remove the tag from the source’s shield, the removed tag would continue to transmit its ID and status alert indicating it had been tampered with.
   
• Radiation Tag (rTag)—the rTag houses the solid-state radiation detector, which monitors changes in radiation levels that indicate a change in the source’s status—from located in a storage container, in use, or even absent. The rTag sends alerts to the MCU through a hardwired connection. The rTag is recharged using the transportation truck’s power.
   
• Master Control Unit (MCU)—Mounted inside the transportation vehicle where sources are stored, the MCU is the central controller for the MSTS system. It monitors and processes all data coming from the eTags and rTags in the system and transmits status data and alerts from the system via the telematics components (satellite and cellular). The MCU is recharged using the truck’s power.
   
• In-Cab Unit (ICU)—Located in the cab of the truck, the ICU provides status data and alarms via colored light indicators to the driver. If the driver is being threatened, the ICU can send duress alerts through the MCU to notify home-base security operations.
   
• Well-Logging Home-Base Security—Comprised of an MCU connected to a server for monitoring the eTags in the storage bunker. The eTags for the storage location can be attached to the shielded source containers or source handling tools based on the configuration of the storage bunker.

APPLICABILITY

PNNL’s MSTS system has far reaching applications beyond oil and gas industries. The innovation also can be used to track and secure mobile industrial radiography devices.