Dutch railroad takes steps to prevent trackside metal theft
Written by jrood
February 14, 2001 SELECTAMARK'S Dutch distributor, Rhine Group BV, has won a major contract to protect the main rail infrastructure in the Netherlands from metal theft, using forensic marking product SelectaDNA. Rhine Group has been awarded the contract by Dutch rail company ProRail BV to combat trackside metal theft. The increased risk of stealing, transporting and handling SelectaDNA-marked copper and other metals is expected to deter thieves and have a significant impact on the number of incidents.
Driven by continuing global
demand for metals such as copper, the Netherlands is among many countries to
struggle with the problem of trackside metal theft, which not only disrupts
rail services but also causes substantial damage to signaling equipment, posing
serious danger to passengers.
Under the new agreement,
SelectaDNA forensic marking technology will be used by ProRail to reduce the
number of thefts of metal rail equipment such as copper cable. ProRail will be
deploying SelectaDNA’s technology to mark trackside metals with the product’s
unique DNA signature, which is highly resistant to sunlight, withstands
temperatures of up to 1,000°C and can be identified and analyzed on the spot. The
unique chemical composition of the marking can be identified with a portable
DNA scanner. The DNA marking is immediately visible under ultraviolet (UV)
light and contains metal microdots with an engraved coding that can be analyzed
with a small USB-microscope.
The detection and analysis
technology can also be made available to scrap metal dealers so they can check
for markings on metal being offered to them.
