Researchers at the Virginia Tech College of Science are developing a device at Dominion Power’s North Anna Nuclear Generating Station in Virginia that could change the way that the United Nations (UN) monitors nuclear power activity.
The device, a high-tech box containing luminescent plastic cubes, can detect subatomic particles produced by nuclear reactors called neutrinos. These particles could be used to monitor the production of plutonium, the main ingredient in nuclear weapons.
The researchers said the box is “tamper-proof” and would reduce the need for inspections and eliminate the possibility of falsified paperwork.
“The whole problem with nuclear inspections is you have to know what is happening at all times to make this calculation,” Patrick Huber, a professor of physics at Virginia Tech, said. “You need continuity of knowledge to make conclusions. But the stream of data from a reactor can be interrupted because of technical malfunction or diplomatic reasons. With antineutrino detection, you don’t have to know all that. It’s based simply on the detection of neutrinos.”
The researchers recently placed a prototype inside a small trailer filled with processors and cooling mechanisms outside of reactor two at the North Anna facility. The device will remain at this site for several months in order to demonstrate the potential for a larger detector, which would weigh in several tons.