R. Cathey Daniels
Oak Ridger staff

Richard Meehan, a team leader with the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Operations office, left, and Randy Walker, program manager in the Transportation Technologies Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory discuss the components of the Radiation Detection Systems installed Tuesday at a weigh station on I-40 near Watt Road. -- Staff photo by Marie Moffitt

A $100,000 Exploranium Radiation Detection Systems device was installed Tuesday at the site for the Department of Energy Oak Ridge Operations office, with support from the Tennessee Department of Public Health. Installation was completed by the Tennessee Department of Transportation with assistance from the National Transportation Research Center located on Pellissippi Parkway. The technology joins the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's SensorNet, a small device designed to reside atop cell phone towers and developed to detect chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats and to provide public warnings of those threats. The radiation monitoring system was purchased by DOE to augment its survey and release programs, but with the advent of the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11, a new idea was hatched. "We decided to expand the functionality of this technology and deploy it in a commerce setting to scan trucks as they come through to be weighed," said Richard Meehan, team leader with the facilities and materials reuse division for ORO. "We hope to determine through this study whether this system is of use in vehicle applications," said Meehan." At the same time we'll evaluate what's the least amount of radiation we can detect. It's very much a study -- we'll deploy and see the performance in this rigorous commercial environment." Meehan noted that the weigh station near the Watt Rd. exit has one of the highest volumes of truck traffic in the nation.

R. Cathey Daniels can be contacted at (865) 220-5515 or danielsrcd@oakridger.com.

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