Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the Department of Energy (DoE) are testing OSI Systems‘ [OSIS] GaRDS gamma ray-based system for detecting the chemical signature of nitrogen, which indicates that explosives may be present. The testing is taking place at the Materials and Fuels Complex allowing security personnel to inspect the cargo of semi and delivery trucks without opening cargo doors. The inspections with the GaRDS will occur on large vehicles where cargo cannot be easily inspected visually. The scanning process generally takes less than five minutes. The GaRDS system will send out a low-level “neutron cloud” that reacts with the material inside a truck, an INL spokeswoman tells TR2. The system will read the reaction for chemical signatures that indicated the presence of explosives, she adds. INL says the detection system is the first of its kind to be operational in the U.S. The Department of Energy wants to find out about the capability and maintainability of the system for possible use at DoE facilities around the country, the INL spokeswoman says. GaRDS is supplied by OSI’s Rapiscan Systems division.
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