ARG-US RFID FOR MONITORING AND TRACKING NUCLEAR MATERIALS — THE OPERATING EXPERIENCE

Under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Packaging Certification Program (PCP), Office of Packaging and Transportation, Office of Environmental Management, Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) has developed a monitoring and tracking system for nuclear materials based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. The system, called ARG-US (which means “Watchful Guardian”), has been in field-testing and deployments at selected DOE sites since 2010. This paper describes the operating experience of ARG-US at three of the sites — Savannah River Site, Nevada National Security Site, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory — in both storage and off-site transportation applications. ARG-US utilizes battery-powered tags to remotely and continually monitor the vital parameters of packages in storage and transportation. The tags report the results to readers and the attached database via the 433-MHz radio frequency. No line-of-sight is necessary, and the read range can be >100 m. The tags contain a suite of sensors, including seal (tamper-indicating), temperature, humidity, and shock, as well as a gamma dosimeter and neutron detector. When sensor conditions are normal, the values of the parameters are recorded and stored at prescribed intervals. If any of the thresholds of a sensor are violated (for instance, a loss of seal-bolt tension), the condition is reported instantaneously to responsible parties for action. The ARG-US RFID system has a modular and flexible platform. Of all the sensors, the neutron detector is the latest addition. In conjunction with the gamma dosimeters, the ARG-US RFID technology has the potential to provide all vital information about the packages to the facility operator while minimizing the need for personnel to be present for surveillance. Doing so not only streamlines facility operation and enhances productivity but also improves the implementation of the As-Low-As-Reasonably-Achievable (ALARA) principle for nuclear and radiological facilities.