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Results for “RADIOACTIVE FALLOUT”

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PubMed2002

Reconstruction and analysis of 137Cs fallout deposition patterns in the Marshall Islands.

Estimates of 137Cs deposition caused by fallout originating from nuclear weapons testing in the Marshall Islands have been estimated for several locations in the Marshall Islands. These retrospective estimates are based primarily on historical exposure rate and gummed film measurements. The methods used to reconstruct these deposition estimates are similar to those used in the National Cancer Institute study for reconstructing 131I deposition from the Nevada Test Site. Reconstructed cumulative deposition estimates are validated against contemporary measurements of 137Cs concentration in soil with account taken for estimated global fallout contributions. These validations show that the overall geometric bias in predicted-to-observed (P:O) ratios is 1.0 (indicating excellent agreement). The 5th to 95th percentile range of this distribution is 0.35-2.95. The P:O ratios for estimates using historical gummed film measurements tend to slightly overpredict more than estimates using exposure rate measurements. The deposition estimate methods, supported by the agreement between estimates and measurements, suggest that these methods can be used with confidence for other weapons testing fallout radionuclides.

Cesium Radioisotopes↗
PubMed2005

Design of a radiation surveillance unit for an unmanned aerial vehicle.

This paper describes a prototype of a compact environmental radiation surveillance instrument designed for a Ranger unmanned aerial vehicle. The instrument, which can be used for tracking a radioactive plume, mapping fallout and searching for point sources, consists of three different detector types (GM, NaI(Tl) and CZT) and an air sampling unit. In addition to the standard electronics for data acquisition, the system contains an onboard computer, a GPS receiver and environmental sensors, all enclosed in a single housing manufactured of fiberglass-reinforced composite material. The data collected during the flight is transmitted in real-time to the ground station via a TETRA radio network. The radiation surveillance unit is an independent module and as such can be used in, for example, airplanes, helicopters and cars.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed2006

Radiological consequences of the extreme flooding on the lower course of the Rhone valley (December 2003, south east France).

In early December 2003 unusual weather conditions led to major flooding of the lower Rhone valley. When it floods, the Rhone carries large masses of solid matter in suspension, which potentially includes associated artificial (anthropogenic) radioactive contaminants from soil drainage in the catchment area and from re-uptake of sedimentary matter that has been contaminated with low-level radioactive liquid effluents from almost twenty nuclear facilities situated along the Rhone valley. A sampling campaign was carried out to investigate the level and spread of both sediment mass and associated radioactive contamination across the flooded areas. An attempt was made to assess the radiological consequences of such an extreme event on contamination of the food chain. Our results show that almost 700,000 tons of sediment was transported onto the floodplain, of which 80% were coarse and fine sands. These materials transferred 6660 MBq of 137Cs, 93 MBq of (239+240)Pu, 13 MBq of 238Pu and 204 MBq of 60Co over a surface area of 60 km2. More than 90% of deposited sediments are concentrated in a 10 km2 area of agricultural soils, and we estimated that 18% were plowed into the soil. Nevertheless, the level of activity measured in the vegetable crops and milk was not significantly different from the level measured in similar samples from regions that were not affected by the December 2003 floods.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Quality assurance for the measurements and monitoring of radioactivity in the environment.

During the Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) of the European Commission--according to an institutional programme in support to the policy of the European Commission for the implementation of Art. 35 and 36 of the Euratom Treaty as well as in the framework of the OSPAR Convention for the protection of marine environment of the north-east Atlantic--at the Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU--General Directorate Joint Research Centre--European Commission), a reference laboratory for the measurement of radioactivity in the environment (MaRE laboratory) has been set up. In this paper, the principles and philosophy in order to improve the quality and reliability of analytical data for the measurement and monitoring of radioactivity in the environment under a quality assurance (QA) programme are presented. Examples of how a QA programme at the MaRE laboratory is developed and applied are given. Internal and external quality control (QC) programmes are also discussed.

Environmental Monitoring↗