A method for monitoring objects comprising: in a first recording phase: irradiating an object with a suitable source of radiation, collecting intensity information about radiation emergent from the object, resolving the intensity information spectroscopically between at least two energy bands, and storing the resultant spectroscopically resolved intensity dataset as a reference dataset representing a reference condition for the object; repeating for a plurality of objects to create a reference database of such reference conditions for a plurality of objects; and in a second verification phase performed independently: irradiating an object with a suitable source of radiation, collecting intensity information about radiation emergent from the object, resolving the intensity information spectroscopically between at least two energy bands, and using the resultant spectroscopically resolved intensity dataset as a test dataset representing a test condition for the test object; identifying the object and retrieving its corresponding reference dataset; comparing the test dataset and the reference dataset within predetermined tolerance limits to determine whether a test object remains in the reference condition, and: in the event that the reference dataset and the test dataset correspond within the predetermined tolerance limits, treating the object as verified or in the event that the reference dataset and the test dataset differ by more than the predetermined tolerance limits, in a third identification phase: numerically processing the resolved intensity information from the test dataset to derive therefrom a dataset of information characteristic of the composition of the object, and using this information to identify the composition of the object. in a first recording phase: irradiating an object with a suitable source of radiation, collecting intensity information about radiation emergent from the object, resolving the intensity information spectroscopically between at least two energy bands, and storing the resultant spectroscopically resolved intensity dataset as a reference dataset representing a reference condition for the object; repeating for a plurality of objects to create a reference database of such reference conditions for a plurality of objects; and irradiating an object with a suitable source of radiation, collecting intensity information about radiation emergent from the object, resolving the intensity information spectroscopically between at least two energy bands, and storing the resultant spectroscopically resolved intensity dataset as a reference dataset representing a reference condition for the object; repeating for a plurality of objects to create a reference database of such reference conditions for a plurality of objects; and in a second verification phase performed independently: irradiating an object with a suitable source of radiation, collecting intensity information about radiation emergent from the object, resolving the intensity information spectroscopically between at least two energy bands, and using the resultant spectroscopically resolved intensity dataset as a test dataset representing a test condition for the test object; identifying the object and retrieving its corresponding reference dataset; comparing the test dataset and the reference dataset within predetermined tolerance limits to determine whether a test object remains in the reference condition, and: in the event that the reference dataset and the test dataset correspond within the predetermined tolerance limits, treating the object as verified or in the event that the reference dataset and the test dataset differ by more than the predetermined tolerance limits, in a third identification phase: numerically processing the resolved intensity information from the test dataset to derive therefrom a dataset of information characteristic of the composition of the object, and using this information to identify the composition of the object. irradiating an object with a suitable source of radiation, collecting intensity information about radiation emergent from the object, resolving the intensity information spectroscopically between at least two energy bands, and using the resultant spectroscopically resolved intensity dataset as a test dataset representing a test condition for the test object; identifying the object and retrieving its corresponding reference dataset; comparing the test dataset and the reference dataset within predetermined tolerance limits to determine whether a test object remains in the reference condition, and: in the event that the reference dataset and the test dataset correspond within the predetermined tolerance limits, treating the object as verified or in the event that the reference dataset and the test dataset differ by more than the predetermined tolerance limits, in a third identification phase: numerically processing the resolved intensity information from the test dataset to derive therefrom a dataset of information characteristic of the composition of the object, and using this information to identify the composition of the object.