Development of a new continuous air monitoring system for measuring occupational airborne radioactivity

Conference · Fri Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1991 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States)

OSTI ID:5114799

Koskelo, M J; Nelson, D C

The US Department of Energy (DOE) specifies the maximum permissible derived air concentration (DAC) limits for airborne alpha activity for transuranic (TRU) radionuclides in DOE facilities. The limits are based on ensuring that workers exposed to such man-made radioactivity during an 8-h day, 40-h week will not suffer a lifetime whole-body or organ dose in excess of radiation protection dose guidelines. To meet this regulatory requirement and detect the presence of TRU radionuclides, workplace air needs to be monitored continuously. The potentially radioactive aerosols are normally collected and measured with a device called continuous air monitor (CAM). A CAM draws air through a filter where the aerosol particles are collected and then monitors the collected particulate matter on the filter with an alpha of an acute increase in the airborne TRU activity as well as in the case of a low-level chronic release over a period of time. The first case is usually relatively easy to detect. The second case is much more difficult due to naturally occurring radon progeny. With a goal to address these remaining problems and to eventually offer a new type of CAM commercially, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Canberra Industries will make the necessary modifications to be able to manufacture a new CAM commercially and add the appropriate analytical methods to it.

• OSTI ID: 5114799
• Report Number(s): CONF-911107--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States) Journal Volume: 64
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220200 -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Components & Accessories
220900 -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Reactor Safety
440101 -- Radiation Instrumentation-- General Detectors or Monitors & Radiometric Instruments
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
AEROSOLS
AIR POLLUTION MONITORS
AIR SAMPLERS
ALARM SYSTEMS
ALPHA DETECTION
ALPHA SPECTROMETERS
CHARGED PARTICLE DETECTION
COLLOIDS
COUNTING TECHNIQUES
DETECTION
DISPERSIONS
DOSES
ELEMENTS
EQUIPMENT
FILTERS
FLUIDS
GASES
LANL
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MONITORING
MONITORS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NONMETALS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
PARTICLES
PARTICULATES
PERFORMANCE
RADIATION DETECTION
RADIATION DOSES
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIATION PROTECTION
RADIOACTIVE AEROSOLS
RADON
RARE GASES
REGULATIONS
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
SAMPLERS
SOLS
SPECTROMETERS
TRANSURANIUM COMPOUNDS
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
WHOLE-BODY COUNTING