Tamper-Indicating Devices in GIPP Project

Tamper-Indicating Devices (TIDs) serve the purpose of providing reliable and timely detection of any type of access to a containerized cargo or any other protected cargo. Functionally, they replace simple sealing devices, such as basic seals and tags that are widely used in various fields for storage and transportation applications. In most cases, the use of simple modern seals made of plastic or metal is justified due to the obvious advantages of ease of application and low cost. However, there is a current need to have highly reliable sealing technologies for containers that may carry hazardous or high-risk/consequence cargo such as nuclear, chemical, or biological materials or weapons/weapons components. Greatly increased assurance and operational flexibility results when those highly reliable sealing technologies can be monitored remotely. Additionally, these higher assurance devices could appropriately be used to monitor compliance with the international treaties on non-proliferation control, or other monitoring applications. Over the last seven years, TID development has been the focus of an international technology collaboration between the Russian Federal Nuclear Centers and the U.S. National Laboratories. The All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics (VNIIEF) as jointly developed a commercial application with Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and Canberra – Albuquerque (formerly Aquila) as part of the DOE Global Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention (GIPP) program. A new sealing technology to provide highly reliable sealing and monitoring of hazardous or high-risk/consequence cargo containers is being developed as part of Project GIPP RUE2-011122-SV-05. The technology uses a new type of active seal, also known as a Radio-Frequency Seal/Tag (RFST) system. It consists of a miniature electronic and mechanical device with a digital RF-channel that represents the stateof- the-art in micromechanics and computer technologies. RFST seals are free from the limitations inherent in simple basic seals and provide both sealing and container monitoring functions. Their handling does not require specially trained personnel.