Embedded smart trackers boost security for radioactive shipments

Every day, cancer patients visit medical facilities for treatments to lessen or alleviate the destructive illness. Treatments often include radioisotopes and other radioactive materials that target and destroy cancer cells effectively.

On its way to medical centers, however, this material could be intercepted and used for other purposes, which is why experts at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are researching more secure methods to ensure the shipment arrives at the intended destination.

One challenge in shipping radioactive material is simply tracking the package. Imagine sending a box through the mail. Each parcel receives a tracking number to show the transfer from the originator to the mail service to, hopefully, the intended recipient. Once the package is delivered, tracking stops, and the recipient uses the box contents.

ORNL cyber researchers Sam Hollifield and Mingyan Li co-lead a project looking to integrate electronics into tracking radioactive material.

“We’re working with ORNL colleagues who understand both nuclear packaging and advanced manufacturing to find the strongest method to ship nuclear and radioactive material,” Li said. “We’re looking at ways to enable smart technology to stay with the package throughout the life of the shipment. This ensures tracking and monitoring stays with the package even as it changes hands from the maker to the delivery service to the final recipient.”

The project, called Smart Packaging for Critical Energy Shipments, or SPaCES, uses 3D printing in package construction where tampering is less likely. The package is monitored as soon as the material is placed inside and tracked through to the time when it’s removed for the treatment.

“ORNL has a world-class advanced manufacturing facility that makes for an advantageous venture to work with researchers needing to fabricate their own materials,” said Kunal Mondal, a fuel cycle nuclear engineer at ORNL. Mondal’s team collaborates with Li’s team to find the right packaging to work well with electronics, all while complying with national regulations on shipping radioactive material.

Mondal joined ORNL in 2023 specifically to work on creating smart nuclear transportation containers using advanced manufacturing, a method by which the manufacturing process is enhanced to create intended outcomes. This includes both creating stronger materials and improving how the material is made. When these materials are used in 3D printing or forged using extreme temperatures and pressure, the end package is overall more effective in safely and securely transporting radioactive material moves across the country.

Ryan Karkkainen, a senior researcher specializing in nuclear materials packaging and colleague of Mondal, joined ORNL in 2023 to test new materials on packaging around nuclear material. As a mechanical engineer, he conducted structural analysis of materials for the United States Army and a prominent American car company. Now, he thinks about what situations a nuclear material package may be in, such as being dropped, crushed or shot.

ORNL researchers have been looking for ways to integrate smart technology into nuclear packaging for years. Oscar Martinez, leader of a team of nuclear material packaging engineers, recognized smart technology in common household appliances could also be used to enhance the security of radioactive packages.

“There are 3 million shipments each year of hazardous and radioactive material,” Martinez said. “There have been many tests for safety, but on the security side, what on the package can protect it from an adversary?”

His team is implementing additive manufacturing techniques to include sensors to track, protect and notify the authorities if a security threat arises.

Li’s team is also looking to ensure the network connectivity of the electronics is secure from hackers. The data is transmitted through the cloud to a command center using an ORNL-developed technology called T-STAR. The location of the shipment is only known to those who need to know as it travels to its destination, preventing the potential for missing or delayed packages and ensuring the package is aptly received.

Additive manufacturing and cybersecurity are two ways in which ORNL is looking to increase security around transporting radioactive material. In a 2023 paper published in the International Journal of Advanced Nuclear Reactor Design and Technology, Mondal and co-authors also discussed using robotics to move radioactive materials during the shipping process to reduce workers’ exposure to radiation and using data analytics to find the right mixture of packaging components for strength, durability and function.

Li is looking forward to seeing her team’s ideas come to fruition in collaboration with colleagues across the lab. “I’m very excited to see our work strengthen nuclear transportation security,” said Li. “It’s a technology that can be transferred to support national security.”