TAMPER TAPE SEALS

Year
1994
Author(s)
Halvor A. Undem - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Bob W. Wright - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Abstract
Tamper tapes are appealing for many applications due to their ease of use and relative robustness. Applications include seals for temporary area denial, protection of sensitive equipment, chain-of-custody audit trails, and inventory control practices. A next generation of adhesive tamper tapes is being developed that combines the best features of commercially available devices with additional state-of-the-art features in tamper indication, tamper-resistance, and counterfeit-resistance. The additional features are based on U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) research and development (R&D) activities that were originally associated with preparations for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). New features include rapid-set, chemical-cure adhesive systems that allow user-friendly application and layered levels of counterfeit-resistance based on unique \"fingerprint\" characteristics that can be accessed as desired.