The U.S. Department of Energy's Aerial Measuring System (AMS)
For nearly 40 years, aerial radiological search and survey missions have been performed by the United States Department of Energy's (USDOE) Remote Sensing Laboratory (RSL). Originally created in 1967 as Aerial Measurement Operations (AMO), the AMS mission has expanded to include acquiring baseline measurements, performing periodic area monitoring, and responding to radiological emergencies. In an accident scenario, AMS fixed-wing and/or rotary-wing systems can be deployed to map radiological deposition. A fixed-wing system is on standby twenty-fours per day, seven days per week and can be deployed within four hours of notification. It can quickly evaluate high levels of radiation which may constitute immediate health risks. To accomplish its mission the fixed-wing aircraft utilizes the Spectral Aerial Radiological Computer System (SPARCS) which records gross count and spectral information. Data from SPARCS is telemetered to ground stations and secure websites where it can be viewed and evaluated in near-real time. The rotary-wing system deploys following the critical phase of an accident and supports the DOE's Consequence Management Response Team (CMRT) in determining long term consequences of the accident. The rotary wing aircraft utilizes the Radiation and Environmental Data Acquisition and Recording System (REDAR). A 25-liter sodium iodide (NaI) spectral system and precise positioning allow distributed man-made activity of less than 1 {micro}R/hr at ground level to be precisely mapped. This talk will discuss history of the USDOE's AMS program and its current efforts to conduct baseline aerial surveys of some US cities.
- Research Organization:
- National Security Technologies, LLC (NSTec), Mercury, NV (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE - National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC52-06NA25946
- OSTI ID:
- 926262
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/NV/25946-114; TRN: US0804120
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Health Physics Society Meeting; Portland, Oregon; July 8-12, 2007
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY
ACCIDENTS
AIRCRAFT
COMPUTERS
DATA ACQUISITION
DEPOSITION
GROUND LEVEL
MANAGEMENT
MONITORING
POSITIONING
RADIATION PROTECTION
RADIATIONS
RECORDING SYSTEMS
REMOTE SENSING
SODIUM IODIDES
WEBSITES
Aerial Measuring System