Portable devices thwart smugglers - portable detection systems can identify contents of sealed containers - Brief Article

Smugglers, beware. Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Wash., have developed two portable detection systems that quickly and accurately can identify everything from the contents of a soda can to strategic metals that are used to make nuclear weapons.

The Material Identification System (MIS) is composed of a laptop computer with a plug-in instrument card that operates a handheld probe. As the probe is passed over a piece of metal, the instrument card measures the flow of electrical currents through the metal. Ease of flow--or, alternately, resistance--varies from one metal to another. Data that is gathered through this process is used by the computer for comparison and reconciliation against an extensive U.S. Customs data base. The computer lets the user know whether the metal actually is what is declared or purported to be, and also indicates the most likely identity of the metal. The inspector may research the data base for additional information, including the classification of the metal and regulations that apply.

In addition to detecting strategic metals, which could be used to make nuclear weapons, the MIS helps border inspectors determine if a shipment of metals has been labeled fraudulently to avoid a higher duty fee.

Applications are not limited to Customs-related work. The system is used at the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford (Wash.) site to inspect excessed equipment before it is sold as surplus to the public. This is a precaution to help identify items that may impose special export controls requirements on the person or organization purchasing them.

The Ultrasonic Pulse Echo instrument, based on ultrasound technology, originally was developed to inspect chemical weapon stockpiles in Iraq following the 1991 Gulf War. A handheld device roughly the size and shape of a large ping-pong paddle, the instrument houses a computer, is linked to a data library and sensor head, and can determine the contents of a sealed container.

The sensor, which transmits ultrasonic pulses and detects any return echoes, is positioned on the outside wall of the container. As sound waves are transmitted, the return echoes bouncing off the other side of the container are analyzed in terms of time of flight and amplitude decay to identify the characteristics of the contents and compare those features against information in the data library. In addition to characterization, the Ultrasonic Pulse Echo can measure how full a container is and determine whether there are any cavities or hidden packages within the container that might hold drugs or other smuggled goods.

"This instrument and the Material Identification System are reliable and can provide information in a matter of seconds, but they should not be viewed as end-alls," Pacific Northwest senior research scientist Richard Pappas emphasizes. "Border inspectors simply don't have time to conduct a search of the contents of every vehicle passing through a border point. But if experience and intuition tell them a particular shipment warrants suspicion, they then could turn to these systems."

The U.S. On-Site Inspection Agency has ordered 10 sets of the equipment for use at borders in Russia, former Soviet republics, and Eastern Europe. Smuggling is on the upswing in the region, while efforts to halt the transport of illicit goods have been hindered by a lack of funding, adequately trained personnel, end technology.

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