Abstract
The absence of online radiation-monitoring systems (RMSs) has been observed in the case of the Fukushima nuclear accident. As the tsunami destroyed 23 of the 24 status-monitoring points, almost no relevant radiation dose measurement data were available. Rapid deployment of a mobile radiological unit that can quickly determine the activity and direction of the radioactive cloud spread on the ground or in the air can prevent unnecessary deaths and related financial losses. Although the design of the current generation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) incorporates features that minimize the risk of large radioactive releases outside the reactor, it is still important to focus on the development of systems that can mitigate the consequences of such events. In situations when the level of radiation does not permit the personnel to perform the required measurements, online unmanned RMSs may come into play. For such a purpose, the RMS-00x RMS could be used, which is a modular system covering the functionality of dose rate measurement, air sampling, and radiation map creation without requiring human personnel to be present at the measurement site. The main purpose of the RMS-00x RMS is the rapid deployment of unmanned monitoring devices to reduce the radiation burden on workers and on public. The system can be applied in the vicinity of an NPP or at any location, where the source of ionizing radiation could be present. Before this system is used in real conditions, its components must be thoroughly calibrated, based on certified measurement equipment and the state-of-art simulation tools. This article deals with the description of the RMS-00x sensor modules and demonstrates their functionality in combination with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In addition, the use of the developed technology was demonstrated as part of the regular emergency planning and preparedness exercise of Jaslovkse Bohunice NPP (EBO NPP) on October 26, 2017.
Highlights
The absence of online radiation monitoring systems has been observed in the case of Fukushima nuclear accident
The obtained results showed that the precision of the Radiation Monitoring System (RMS)-001 radiation measurement module is comparable with the certified detector, the death time of the detection tube plays important role
The design of the current generation of nuclear power plant (NPP) incorporates features that minimize the risk of large radioactive releases outside the reactor, it is still important to focus on the development of systems that can mitigate the consequences of such events
Summary
The absence of online radiation monitoring systems has been observed in the case of Fukushima nuclear accident. The serious situation resulting from the accident led to the decision to evacuate the populations. This decision had been made on the basis of the parameters computed from the simulation models. Investigation revealed that the increased levels of the measured quantities had been caused by a natural radioactive source, located outside the nuclear power plant area, raised by the wind. In such a situation, a mobile detection unit located on an unmanned device would have effectively identify the source of the radiation [2]
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