NASA’s Dryden Flight Research 

Center has developed ChemSecure, 

a wireless, sensor-based hazardous 

materials management system aimed 

at improving management of chemicals and other hazardous materials 

to enhance security and safety while 

significantly reducing ongoing supply 

chain costs.

The ChemSecure pilot program integrated Radio Frequency Identification 

(RFID) and sensor-based technology 

with the Department of Defense’s 

existing Web-based Hazardous Materials Management System (HMMS) 

database to automate the real-time 

management of hazardous materials 

including usage, shipment, tracking 

and storage.

As the first project of its kind, NASA 

Dryden, located at Edwards, Calif., 

spearheaded development of ChemSecure in close partnership with the 

Department of Defense and leading 

private sector companies, including 

Oracle Corp., Redwood Shores, Calif.; Intermec Technologies Corporation, Everett, Wash.; and EnvironMax, 

Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah. 

ChemSecure uses RFID tags placed 

on hazardous material containers 

and Oracle Sensor-Based Services to 

capture, manage, analyze and assess environmental conditions, such 

as temperature fluctuations, that 

could render the chemicals unusable. 

Dryden enters the real-time information in the HMMS database to make 

ChemSecure

A hazardous materials management system for the 21st century
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Dryden Flight Research Center

P.O. Box 273

Edwards, CA 93523-0273

Voice 661-276-3449 FAX 661-276-3566

pao@dfrc.nasa.gov

NASA Facts

FS-2007-5-095-DFRC

informed decisions about the transportion and 

storage of hazardous materials, and provides 

automatic alerts — text messaging, voice 

alerts and e-mails — to security, safety, health 

and environmental personnel to warn them of 

any changes with the chemicals. 

ChemSecure utilizes data captured by Intermec 750 mobile computers, IP3 RFID mobile 

readers and fixed RFID readers, temperature 

sensors, and visual response devices to 

ensure that managers always have access to 

critical chemical information. For example, 

security personnel are notified if unauthorized access attempts are made to obtain 

highly hazardous materials, and environmental professionals are alerted when the storage limit of a hazardous chemical locker is 

close to exceeding capacity. 

In addition to helping organizations significantly reduce hazardous materials management costs and errors, the ChemSecure 

program includes many additional capabilities 

that enhance safety and security measures 

such as:

• Supplying critical data to first responders 

and decision makers so they are equipped to 

make timely decisions for the safety, security 

and protection of people as well as the physical 

assets in the environment during an emergency 

evacuation involving a chemical spill;

• Monitoring personnel when they handle hazardous containers and providing accountability 

by crosschecking employee information with 

container information to reduce theft, error and 

fraud;

• Providing end-to-end visibility of the hazardous materials transportation and storage life 

cycle for improved decision making and auditing;

• Ensuring chemicals are placed in appropriate and safe locations to avoid adverse reactions with other chemicals; 

• Ensuring personnel are properly authorized 

and trained to work with the chemicals to reduce human error.

ChemSecure’s long-term goal is to protect the 

general population from the potential effects of 

accidental spills of hazardous materials. The 

system is not limited to protection of federal 

facilities, but can also help protect communities through which hazardous materials travel. 

In late 2006, NASA Dryden submitted a patent 

application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark 

Office for the ChemSecure system.