Cosmic ray radiography with RPC for high-Z material identification

The radiography based on Multiple Coulomb scattering of cosmic muons is a useful technique for high-Z material identification. It can be used to inspect big volumes such as vehicles or cargo for the detection of illegal transport of nuclear matter (i.e. Uranium). For this purpose, large area position sensitive detectors are needed: Resistive Plate Chambers well fulfill all experimental requirements. A test to identify high-Z materials has been performed using the RPCs of the muon spectrometer of the ALICE experiment. A description of the experimental setup is presented and the data analysis results are discussed showing the capability of the apparatus to detect high-Z material.