PNNL

Eric Smith has spent much of his career trying to figure out what's inside a nuclear material container without actually opening it. Smith spent several years at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria. He is a long-time member of the American Nuclear Society.

Smith and his team have been developing a monitoring system for radiation ― the mix of gamma rays and neutrons―given off by uranium inside a cylinder. This nondestructive measurement of nuclear material serves two important purposes: it allows facility operators to “balance the books” on their inventories, and it allows regulators to verify that material hasn’t been misused or stolen.

For example, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has the responsibility to independently verify the contents of large cylindrical containers used to store and transport the uranium hexafluoride used to make fuel for nuclear reactors. These cylinders, about the size of a couch, but much heavier, must contain exactly what the facility operator says it does.

"The IAEA currently uses a handheld detector about the size of your fist to measure the end of one of these large cylinders," Smith said. "What they'd like to do is to measure the whole volume of the material in an automated way."

Smith and his team developed the “Unattended Cylinder Verification Station” now in field trials.

Smith has also worked on radiation portal monitors at ports of entry — land, sea, and air. Vehicles and cargo containers pass through the monitors, which scan for telltale signs of illicit nuclear materials.

He has been active in the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society and the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management. He holds two patents on radiation detection technologies.

More Information

PNNL Staff Biography