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Chemical Weapons Identification
 Portable Isotopic Neutron Spectroscopy (PINS) Systems have been deployed world-wide since their introduction 10 years ago; increasingly, being deployed as part of national counter-terrorist efforts. PINS provides a non-contact and non-destructive means of identifying the CHEMICAL contents of "suspect" packages.
PINS, an R&D 100 award-winning technology, was originally developed to identify the contents of old munitions suspected of containing chemical agents. It is important to note that, while the PINS technique is nuclear, the purpose, that of chemical composition determination, is NON-nuclear.
The latest generation miniPINS is easier to use, smaller, lighter and an improved format made possible by improvements in software and in new digital electronics.
In-field measurements require portability, reliability, and ease of use. The performance of the ORTEC PINS and the latest miniPINS systems, has been verified in real-world use by the U.S. Army, which has successfully identified, in the field, hundreds of suspect munitions from burial sites and firing ranges. PINS readily and clearly distinguished between cylinders containing high explosives, cylinders containing blister agents and others filled with nerve gas.
Recent international events have demonstrated the value of having such an instrument in the fight against terrorism. PINS systems have been deployed in support of a variety of security operations at more than 40 sites in the U.S.A. and elsewhere.
PINS technology undergoes continuous developmental improvement under a collaborative agreement between ORTEC and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, U.S.A. (INEEL).1
1CRADA 93-ST-12.
PINS Deployments
In more than ten years of deployment, PINS systems have been used extensively world wide, often in classified applications, by military and counter-terrorist organizations. Many demonstrations of PINS technology have taken place. Selected user names are available on request.
Technical Description
Principle of Operation: The Physics
| PINS is a novel application of a well-understood technique, involving the interrogation of a container, using neutrons from a small moderated source. The neutrons pass through the wall of the container and collide with the atomic nuclei of the contents.
The ensuing nuclear reactions ("neutron capture" and "inelastic scattering") produce gamma rays, which when appropriately detected and recorded, produce a gamma-ray spectrum. The gamma-ray spectrum peaks are found at channel numbers corresponding to energies associated with specific nuclear de-excitations characteristic of the chemical element concerned. The relative heights of the peaks are related to the ratios of the elements inside the container. These energies and ratios are in themselves UNIQUELY characteristic of the contents of the container, whether high explosive, nerve gas, or other. In this way, with a "library" of known signatures, it is possible to
determine unambiguously the contents of the container.
The extent to which the result is "certain" is illustrated by a real world example, in which a PINS system was used to confirm the contents of a compressed gas cylinder found buried in the ground.
It can be clearly seen that the spectrum from the container and the spectrum from a cylinder known to contain HF are an excellent match. This "fingerprinting" approach is the essence of the method.
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Portable Isotopic Neutron-Spectroscopy Chemical Assay System
- Second Generation Neutron-Based NDE System for Identification of Chemical Warfare Agents, Explosives, and Toxic Industrial Chemicals
- Second Generation Non-Destructive Chemical Identification Tool
- Identifies chemical contents of munitions and other containers safely and reliably by non-destructive and non-contact method: no direct sampling or need to breach container or overpack required
- Highly penetrating neutron radiation passes through even the thickest metal containers to expose the contents
- Chemical fingerprinting algorithms developed over thousands of real world examples
- Latest Portable Spectrometer – digiDART – brings digital signal processing, "SMART"
detector technology and more compact packaging to PINS
- More compact and simple to assemble
- Improved Usability over previous versions
- Suitable for both military or civil defense use
- Assay times: 100 to 1000 seconds
Range of Applications
PINS and miniPINS have been demonstrated highly effective in the identification of chemical constituents in a wide variety of containers and forms:
- Munitions and Containers
- Artillery projectiles: 75 mm to 175 mm
- Mortar projectiles: 3-, 4-inch Stokes, 4.2 inch
- M-55 rockets, inside S/F tubes and overpacked
- "Weteye," MC-1, M-70, M-79 bombs, cluster bomblets
- Land mines, Livens projectors
- Gas cylinders, DOT 500X ton containers
- Chemicals
- CW agents: CG, CK, HD, HN3, GA, GB, L, VX
- Explosives: ANFO, Composition B, RDX, TNT
- Gases: acetylene, arsine, chlorine, phosgene, phosphine
- Smoke: FM, FS, HC, WP
- Practice: sand, water/antifreeze
- Suspect Containers
Download the miniPINS Portable Isotopic Neutron Spectroscopy Chemical Assay System brochure.
PINS-GMX
 Portable Isotopic Neutron-Spectroscopy GAMMA-X Detector
The Portable Isotopic Neutron-Spectroscopy GAMMA-X (PINS-GMX) detector was created from a joint development of ORTEC and the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory* (INEEL) in response to the growing worldwide need to determine in situ the specific nature of the contents of a variety of containers of munitions or potential chemical weapons. Such applications require a detector with high resolution over a large range of energy, portability, neutron damage resistance, reliability, and ease of use. The performance of the PINS-GMX detector has been verified in real-world use by the U.S. Army.
Download the PINS-GMX Portable Isotopic Neutron Spectroscopy GAMMA-X Detector Data Sheet
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