Hazmat Releases Chemical Id System

CASS is intended to advance current methods for screening and sorting hazardous chemicals to support site security guidelines. CASS uses a series of ultrasonic pulses to measure the acoustic signature of a liquid. The technology was developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, operated by Battelle Memorial Institute on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy. More than 100 units have been sold to agencies such as the United Nations, the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and Customs. As outlined by the American Chemistry Council, under the Responsible Care Security Code, chemical companies are required to conduct comprehensive security vulnerability assessments of their facilities, implement security enhancements, and obtain independent verification that those enhancements have been made. Implementing the Security Code under a strict timeline is mandatory for members of the American Chemistry Council and Responsible Care Partner companies. “Congress may pass legislation that will require all chemical plants to pass security inspections similar to those mandated by the American Chemical Council,” said Robert Tillson, CEO of HMSI. “If and when that happens, chemical companies will need an efficient way to address product contamination and tampering threats, as outlined in the site security guidelines. CASS directly addresses these issues. It can reduce the costs, risk, time, and injuries associated with these inspections, while at the same time increasing security.” Benefits of CASS include: quick examination of typical chemical containers (drums, barrels, pipelines and tanker trucks); the ability to determine content without opening containers; ability to distinguish similar from dissimilar container contents; and the detection of hidden compartments and submerged contraband. Powered by rechargeable batteries, CASS is the size of a hair dryer and is attached to a Pocket PC handheld computer that contains a database of chemicals. CASS can identify contents in containers ranging in size from eight to 96 inches in diameter and has been known to detect the difference between Coke and Pepsi.