Open AccessMonitoring airborne alpha-emitter contamination
Author(s) -
P. L. Kerr,
J. E. Koster,
J.G. Conaway,
J.A. Bounds,
P.A. Steadman,
C.W. Whitley
Publication year - 1998
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/645464
Subject(s) - contamination , plutonium , environmental science , air filter , radiation monitoring , radon , radioactive contamination , common emitter , air contamination , alpha (finance) , alpha particle , air monitoring , remote sensing , waste management , radiochemistry , engineering , environmental engineering , nuclear physics , physics , chemistry , geology , electrical engineering , ecology , construct validity , biology , patient satisfaction , inlet , mechanical engineering , medicine , nursing
Facilities that may produce airborne alpha emitter contamination require a continuous air monitoring (CAM) system. However, these traditional CAMs have difficulty in environments with large quantities of non-radioactive particulates such as dust and salt. Los Alamos has developed an airborne plutonium sensor (APS) for the REBOUND experiment at the Nevada Test Site which detects alpha contamination directly in the air, and so is less vulnerable to the problems associated with counting activity on a filter. In addition, radon compensation is built into the detector by the use of two measurement chambers