Engineers to enhance crane-mounted cargo scanning system
VeriTainer, a venture-backed specialist in crane-based radiation detection technology for scanning shipping containers, enters into a three-and-a-half years, $4 million n R&D agreement with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to enhance the gamma and neutron detection sensitivity of the company’s radiation scanners
Radiation-sensing crane in operation // Source: qinetiq.com
Engineers in California are working to enhance the sensitivity of a crane-mounted cargo scanning system capable of detecting whether shipping containers are being used for transporting radiological or nuclear threats.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and St. Helena, California-based VeriTainer Corporation have entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). The CRADA will be used to refine and enhance VeriTainer’s patented crane mounted scanning (CMS) technology.
The CRADA will be in place for three-and-a-half years and require approximately $4 million in funding. LLNL will work in cooperation with VeriTainer’s scientists and engineers to enhance both gamma and neutron detection sensitivity, while maintaining the capabilities of VeriTainer’s CMS.
The system has been operated for the past four years in field tests run at three ports and in five different terminals.
“This agreement with an entity as accomplished and respected as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is obviously a big step forward for our firm, the CMS technology and the overall security of the global supply chain,” said John Alioto, CEO of VeriTainer. “Together, we will optimize the existing technology and continue to develop the overall CMS solution.”
Steven Kreek, the leader of LLNL’s Nuclear Detection and Countermeasures Research Program, stated that under the CRADA the Laboratory will use its expertise not only to optimize the sensitivity of the CMS, but also to leverage the platform to deliver an effective counterterrorism system.
“This technology occupies a unique security niche in that it will be used to scan cargo that is passed between ships, known as transshipment, that doesn’t actually enter a country until reaching its final destination. This technology will help ensure that cargo containers are not used for transporting radiological or nuclear threats,” Kreek added.
VeriTainer Corporation is a venture-backed player in crane-based radiation detection technology for scanning shipping containers. The company says its patented technology enables scanning of 100 percent of shipping containers, addressing a vulnerability of the world’s population centers and allowing for rapid scanning of containers entering and exiting ports without disrupting the flow of commerce.
