INL technologies

The discovery by 

construction workers 

of nine 4,000 pound 

World War II-style bombs 

found in a former military 

shipyard near Baltimore in 

2004 made headlines across 

the nation. What wasn’t said is 

that an Idaho National Laboratory developed technology 

- the Portable Isotopic Neutron 

Spectroscopy system, or PINS 

- assisted the U.S. Army in 

determining the contents of 

the buried munitions without 

breaching the steel shell.

Similarly, in 2000 PINS was 

used at Rocky Mountain Arsenal near Denver to confirm the 

contents of six softball-sized 

World War I-M139 bomblets. 

In this case, the identification 

markings had corroded away 

from the old, rusty munitions. 

When assayed by PINS, the 

munitions were found to be 

filled with the deadly nerve 

agent Sarin. 

Since 1992, this patented 

technology has been used by 

the U.S. Army, the Defense 

Threat Reduction Agency 

(DTRA) and the Department 

Continued on next page

Portable Isotopic Neutron 

Spectroscopy system

INL technology used world-wide to detect 

chemical, explosive warfare agents

INL’s PINS system identifies the 

contents of rusty, old munitions 

suspected of housing chemical 

warfare agents without 

discharging or exposing 

operators to hazards.
INL technologies

Continued from front

of Energy to identify suspect 

chemical and explosive warfare agents found in thousands 

of recovered munitions, stockpile items and other suspected 

hazards. More than 40 PINS 

systems are currently in use 

around the world in locations 

such as Australia, Egypt, 

Iraq, Japan and the United 

Kingdom. PINS is also used 

extensively at more than 100 

sites overseas. 

What is PINS?

PINS – a 1992 R&D 100 

award winner – is a rugged, 

field-deployable, non-destructive evaluation tool that identifies the contents of munitions 

and chemical storage containers by employing neutron 

radiation safely and reliably. 

The system nonintrusively 

identifies material within steel 

and other containers using 

gamma spectroscopy. 

Using a small amount of 

californium 252 as a radioactive 

neutron source, PINS shoots 

neutrons through the metal 

of a container. The neutrons 

interact with the elements 

inside and produce high-energy gamma rays. The gamma 

rays passing back out are detected by a spectrometer. Each 

chemical, nerve or explosive 

agent emits its own signature 

gamma rays, and the software 

within PINS analyzes the 

gamma ray spectra to identify 

the fill. Typically, the system 

can assay the contents of 

munitions within 100 to 1,000 

seconds. 

Developed for field deployment, PINS is both portable 

and tough. Its components 

include a small radioactive 

californium neutron source; 

a detector cooled by liquid 

nitrogen; a stand and shielding for the detector; a multichannel analyzer that sorts 

and stores the data; and a 

notebook computer for user 

interface. Customized software displays the data as it is 

gathered and offers powerful 

options for monitoring and 

analysis.

In more than a decade of 

use, PINS has become the 

premier tool for identifying 

nerve agents, blister agents, 

explosives, military screening 

smokes, compressed gases, 

and practice fills.

miniPINS

Just as powerful and accurate 

as the standard PINS system, 

a miniPINS system has also 

been developed by INL engineers. At 46 lbs., this system 

is less than half the weight of 

a traditional PINS system and 

requires less electrical power 

to operate and fewer shipping 

containers to deploy. 

MiniPINS was developed to 

reduce set up time and shipping costs for its many customers who send the systems 

to field technicians around the 

country and around the world. 

MiniPINS and standard PINS 

are routinely used by the U.S. 

Army. 

With its integrated components, miniPINS can be 

operated with less training 

than required by the standard 

PINS system. Both miniPINS 

and standard PINS use the 

same rigorously tested software and can operate for up to 

eight hours on a single battery 

source. 

Advanced Research 

Current research by INL 

engineers and PINS developers 

is looking at ways to increase 

system speed and sensitivity 

by replacing the californium 

source with a neutron generator. The use of a neutron 

generator would improve the 

system by allowing the radiation source to be turned on and 

off with a switch, and to be 

transported without a license 

from the Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission.

Early test results have concluded the use of a neutron generator to be as effective as the 

californium source, allowing 

the PINS systems to penetrate 

up to two inches of steel. 

Whether it is a standard PINS 

or miniPINS system, both have 

clearly been established as a 

leading technology in their 

field. They are available for 

commercial purchase through 

the ORTEC business unit of 

AMETEK, Inc. in Oak Ridge, 

Tennessee.

INL is a U.S. Department of 

Energy national laboratory 

operated by Battelle Energy 

Alliance

A.J. Caffrey

208-526-4024

gus.caffrey@inl.gov

Information about INL can 

be found at www.inl.gov

For more information For More Information

06-GA50440-02

PINS and miniPINS are 

rugged, field-deployable 

evaluation tools used to 

non-intrusively identify the 

contents of munitions and 

chemical storage containers 

by employing neutron 

radiation safely and reliably.