Methods for express assessment of the radiation situation using a mobile laboratory in emergency situations

Abstract

Methods for express assessment of the radiation situation in situ with the use of a mobile laboratory have been developed. During making decisions on protective measures application in the acute period of a radiological accident, the proposed methods make it possible to promptly assess the values of the volumetric activity of air in the breathing zone (Bq·m-3) and the contamination density of the territory with gamma-emitting radionuclides (Bq·m-2). These methods also allow to determine the activity (Bq) of the detected local radiation source. The scope of application has been expanded and the uncertainty of the previously developed method used for radiological survey of agricultural lands contaminated with cesium-137 without sampling has been reduced. It has been established that in the presence of not only caesium-137, but also caesium-134, cobalt-60, and iodine-131 on the radioactive trace, the proposed methodological approach makes it possible to quickly select the appropriate spectral regions for each pollutant and calibrate the detection units for the current radionuclide composition.