2005 IRISH SCIENTIST YEAR BOOK

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Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland
Stephen Somerville and Ciara McMahon
Upgrading the RPII's national radiation monitoring network

In an emergency, the rapid collection and interpretation of information is fundamental to any response. In the case of a national radiological/nuclear emergency, accurate data collection is essential for protection of the population. The information from an early warning system either through direct measurement or through global communication networks allows a decision to be made as to what countermeasures, if any, are necessary.


Radiation monitoring network

As part of the National Emergency Plan for Nuclear Accidents, the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland operates a national network of radiation monitoring stations. The existing network has been upgraded and further expansion of the network will be completed by the end of 2005. Once completed, the network will provide continuous online ambient gamma dose rate information across Ireland. Depending on location, one of two types of station is been installed. The first type of monitor is mains-powered with 48-hour battery backup and communicates via the landline telephone network. The other model is solar-powered with 48-hour battery backup and communicates via cellular telephone technology. The stations transmit data continuously to the RPII where it is processed and graphically displayed. Alarm levels can be programmed into the software and automatic email/SMS messages are forwarded to relevant contacts if these levels are exceeded or if any of the detectors is faulty.

Gamma radiation dose rates are measured in units of nanosieverts per hour (nSv/h). The normal gamma dose rates vary with local geology and typically range from 50 to 120 nSv/h. Increases in the dose rate occasionally occur due to washout of radon decay products from the atmosphere. These increases are short-lived, lasting only an hour or two after rainfall has ended. The new monitoring network includes rainfall detection, which allows correction for this temporary increase in dose rate. Ambient gamma dose rate can be measured within the range 10 nanosieverts per hour up to 10 sieverts per hour using two duplicated low dose detectors and one high dose detector. Data reliability is enhanced by constant software comparison of the measurements from the duplicated detectors. An error message is generated if this comparison falls outside an allowable tolerance.

Forty mobile monitoring units operated by the Reserve Defence Force's Radiological Monitoring Teams are available to supplement the RPII's fixed stations. Civil Defence teams can also be called on to provide additional radiological monitoring in the event of wide scale contamination.

Contact: Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland,
3 Clonskeagh Square, Dublin 14;
Telephone: 01 2697766; Fax: 01 2697437;
Email: [email protected] ; Web: www.rpii.ie