RF-enablement of auditable storage for hazardous materials

A system for accessing information about a hazardous waste item during shipment and storage thereof, said system comprising:

• i) a container for storing said hazardous waste item, said container comprising:
• a) a RFID tag comprising an antenna, a transceiver operable at a low radio frequency not exceeding 15 MHz, a data storage device, a microprocessor operable to control data flow between said data storage device and said transceiver, and an energy source for providing energy to said transceiver, said data storage device, and said microprocessor;
• b) an encasement structure surrounding said waste item and said RFID tag, said encasement structure comprising a cementitious composition;
• and
• ii) a field antenna operable to send an interrogation signal to said RFID tag at said low radio frequency and to receive data signals at said low frequency from said RFID tag.

A method for accessing information about a hazardous waste item during shipment and storage thereof, said method comprising:

• i) surrounding said waste item and an RFID tag in a container, said container comprising a cementitious composition, said RFID tag comprising a tag antenna, a transceiver operable at a low radio frequency not exceeding 15 MHz, a data storage device, a microprocessor operable to control data flow between said data storage device and said transceiver, and an energy source for providing energy to said transceiver, said data storage device, and said microprocessor;
• ii) disposing a field antenna in spaced adjacency to said container, iii) receiving data signals, (e.g., representing a condition experienced by said RFID tag), of said low radio frequency, at said field antenna and transmitting them to computing device;
• iv) storing information based upon said data signals;
• in a data storage apparatus.

A method of containing a hazardous waste item, said method comprising the steps of:

• a) disposing an inner layer of powdered hydraulic cement around a waste item;
• b) compressing said inner layer of powdered hydraulic cement around said waste item to form a compressed inner layer;
• c) disposing, adjacent said compressed inner layer, an RFID tag comprising an antenna, a transceiver operable at a low radio frequency not exceeding 15 MHz a data storage device, a microprocessor operable to control data flow between said data storage device and said transceiver, and an energy source for providing energy to said transceiver, said data storage device, and said microprocessor;
• d) positioning an outer layer of cement paste around said compressed inner layer of powdered hydraulic cement;
• and e) hydrating and curing the outer layer of cement paste without substantial hydration of said compressed inner layer of powdered hydraulic cement.