An Aerial Radiological Survey of the Las Vegas Strip and Adjacent Areas
- NSTec
As proficiency training for the Radiological Mapping mission of the Aerial Measuring System (AMS), a survey team from the Remote Sensing Laboratory–Nellis (RSL-Nellis) conducted an aerial radiological survey of the Las Vegas Strip and adjacent areas on December 29, 2008. This survey was one of the bi-annual surveys carried in support of the city of Las Vegas Police Department (LVPD) before significant events on the Las Vegas Strip: e.g., the annual New Year’s Eve and July Fourth celebrations. The AMS operation and appropriate law enforcement agencies selected this area as an appropriate urban location to exercise AMS capability for mapping environmental radiation and searching for man-made radioactive sources. The surveys covered approximately 11 square miles. Each survey required a 2.5-hour-long flight, performed at an altitude of 300 ft above ground level (AGL) at a line spacing of 600 ft. Water line and test line flights are conducted over the Lake Mead and Government Wash areas to determine the non-terrestrial background contributed by aircraft, radon, and cosmic activity, and to determine the altitude-dependent air mass correction. The data were collected by the AMS data acquisition system (REDAR V) using an array of twelve 2" x 4" x 16" sodium iodide (NaI) detectors flown on-board a twin-engine Bell 412 helicopter. Gamma energy spectral data were collected second-by-second over the survey area. This spectral data allows the system to distinguish between natural terrestrial background contributions and man-made radioisotope contributions. Spectral data can also be used to identify specific man-made radioactive isotopes. Data geo-locations were determined with a Real-Time Differential Global Positioning System (RDGPS).
- Research Organization:
- Nevada Test Site (NTS), Mercury, NV (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Emergency Operations
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC52-06NA25946
- OSTI ID:
- 1136192
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/NV/25946-647
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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