Grant awarded to develop replacement gauges

NDC Infrared Engineering has been awarded funding by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop new technologies that reduce industry's reliance on radioactive isotopes.

NDC Infrared Engineering has been awarded funding by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop new technologies that reduce industry's reliance on radioactive isotopes.

Under an EPA grant, the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) assisted the agency in initiating this project and soliciting proposals, and will help gain acceptance in the market place for the technologies through multi-stakeholder involvement.

"Achieving acceptance and use of non-radioactive devices is an important step toward a sustainable economy", said Scott Cassel, Executive Director of the Product Stewardship Institute.

"NDC is demonstrating how others in this industry can take greater responsibility for the products they make, distribute, or sell".

NDC was awarded approximately GBP85,000 for research and development, the PSI's top award for product development in this area.

With the funding, NDC will immediately begin work on an X-Ray technology that has potential to replace devices that use gamma and beta radiation in the plastics, pulp, and paper industries, said Hector Marchand, NDC Vice President of Marketing.

"NDC has been driving toward the goal of reduced activity nuclear gauges and /or non-nuclear alternatives since we introduced the first lower activity beta gauges back in 1994", he said.

"Subsequently, all of our gauging developments, including Laser, Infrared and X-Ray devices, have been non-nuclear in nature".

"This grant allows us to take the next logical step in developing additional high-performance non-nuclear gauging alternatives".

Many sensors and gauges in use today use small amounts of radioactive materials, and although they are considered safe, they can cause environmental contamination and health dangers if damaged or disassembled.

The PSI has been commissioned by the EPA to 'identify and implement product stewardship solutions for devices containing radioactive materials..

.including fixed nuclear gauges'.

Fixed nuclear gauges are used to monitor and measure parameters such as density, thickness and moisture content in a wide variety of plastics and other industrial applications.

The Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) is a national nonprofit organisation located in Boston, Massachusetts, which employs a multi-stakeholder process to solve waste management problems and foster product design changes PSI is working with stakeholders to develop product stewardship agreements to reduce the health and environmental impacts from radioactive devices, electronics, paint, mercury switch thermostats, pharmaceuticals, propane gas cylinders and tyres.

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