SensorNet proposed as system to protect millions ...( e-of-the-art sensors and remote telemet...)

First responders would know the critical details of the event, including assessment of the chemical or biological hazards as well as levels of radiological releases. In addition, emergency management personnel would know the projected path of the plume in time to take corrective action. Furthermore, it is possible to rapidly deploy a nationwide SensorNet system because much of the technology and infrastructure already exist.

A communications center at ORNL is operational and shows real-time data from test beds in Washington, D.C., New York and Tennessee. Data on several monitors show visual locations with zoom capability. Sensor operational status can be monitored in real time as well, and plume progressions are visible in two dimensions as well as in 3D.

Protecting the nation's population is a daunting task, Strand noted. Tennessee alone, for example, has 87,000 miles of public roads, 1,073 miles of interstate, 3,000 miles of freight rail, five municipal/international airports and 603 hospitals. The Volunteer State is also home to 332 chemical sites with between 500,000 and 1 billion pounds of explosive materials, and to an additional 342 sites with more than 1 billion pounds of explosive materials.

By establishing Tennessee as a test bed for the nation, Strand said his team would be able to identify requirements necessary to make SensorNet work on a national scale.

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Contact: Ron Walli
garrettka@ornl.gov
865-576-0226
DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
12-Mar-2004