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EPA NAREL

U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyOffice of Air and RadiationNational Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory

National Radiological Emergency Preparedness ConferenceHarrisburg, PennsylvaniaApril 12, 2005

Ronald Fraass, Director NARELfraass.ron@epa.gov 334 270-3401

RadNet: The Transition from ERAMS Static Data to Near Real Time Data

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EPA NAREL

EPA’s Disclaimer

Disclaimer of Endorsement:

Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.

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EPA NAREL

ERAMS

• Environmental Radiation Ambient Monitoring System

• Nationwide, continuously operating environmental radiation monitoring network

• Utilizes voluntary sample collectors

• Operates in routine and emergency modes:– Provides baseline data continuously– Sampling frequency can be increased to respond to an

emergency

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ERAMS History• 1950’s – 60’s Radiation Fallout Monitored by:

– Atomic Energy Commission– US Public Health Service– Department of Health, Education and Welfare

• 1970 Reorganization Plan #3– Created EPA– Provided EPA with Authority and Responsibility

for Radiation Protection• 1973 ERAMS

– Formed by Combining Existing Radiation Monitoring Networks

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Scope of SamplingMedia Stations Sampling

FrequencyKey Analyses

Air 58 Twice Weekly

Gross Beta, Pu, U (Composites)

Precipitation 38 Per Event Gross Beta, Gamma, H-3

Drinking Water

75 Quarterly Gross Alpha/Beta, Gamma (Composites), H-3, I-131 (Once per year per site)

Milk 42 Quarterly Gamma, Sr-90 (Select Sites)

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Access to ERAMS Data

• www.epa.gov/narel/erams for general information

• www.epa.gov/enviro/html/erams for a specific query of the data

• Much of the recent data through 2004• Can look at most media and some

specific isotopes if measured• Chernobyl very noticeable (Apr 86)

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Gross Beta Data from Olympia Washington

Chernobyl

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

4/7/

1986

4/14

/198

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4/21

/198

6

4/28

/198

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5/5/

1986

5/12

/198

6

5/19

/198

6

5/26

/198

6

6/2/

1986

6/9/

1986

6/16

/198

6

6/23

/198

6

Date

pC

i/m3

Series1

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The RadNet Mission is:To continuously monitor for ambient levels of radiation

in the environment,

Provide high quality data to modelers and decision makers for use in developing and implementing appropriate protective actions; and

To provide baseline data during routine conditions.

• Fixed Monitors support the mission by providing national coverage.

• The Deployables support the mission by improving system coverage around an incident.

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RadNet Provides:

• Baseline for comparison in the event of an emergency

• Data on plume size and direction, degree and extent of contamination

• Basis of determining ongoing health and safety guidelines

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RadNet• What the system is intended to do:

– Provide data quickly in the event of a radiological incident to:• Decision makers for use concerning potential protective actions• Dispersion modelers to assist in predicting/refining source term and

dispersion characteristics.• Nuclear/rad health experts for further assessment of national

impact.– Provide gamma spectrometric data in near real-time to a central

repository from numerous locations across the nation to:• Determine large scale national impact of a radiological incident.• Provide better and timely data to modelers for long distance

transport estimates.• Provide exposure data for large areas of population for protective

action recommendations, follow-up monitoring and assessment, and population dose reconstruction.

• Develop baseline for trend analysis and abnormality identification.

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RadNet

• What the system is not intended to do.– Monitor nuclear facilities– Provide an early warning system for nuclear

accidents– Provide a means to monitor in the

immediate locality of the incident – this is addressed by other assets.

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Four Components to a Response

• Radiological Emergency Response Team

• Fixed National Monitoring System Stations

• Deployable National Monitoring System Stations

• Fixed Laboratory Facility

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Radiological Emergency Response Team

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Fixed National Monitoring System

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Deployable National Monitoring System

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Fixed Laboratory

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System Design• What does the system need to have/do to provide

what decision makers need?– Radionuclide(s) present

• Ability to distinguish nuclides (gamma spectrometry)

– Concentrations• Ability to accurately compute concentrations of nuclides

– Timeliness of data• Near real-time data acquisition

• No operator action required

• Ability to report data from remote locations to a central processing location

– Potential movement of contamination• More detectors mean more data points for model refinement

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Prototyping Project Goal

Evaluate ability of current state of art gamma spectrometry systems to reduce response time for detecting very small concentrations of radioactive material affecting large populations:

• Concentration equivalent to PAG if inhaled continuously for 100 hours

• Reduce detection time from 3 days to 1 hour• Reduce quantitative measurement and protective

action recommendation time from 5 days to 6 hours

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Enhance Existing Monitoring Network

• Existing high-volume air samplers Nominal 1 cubic meter/minute air flow 4” diameter non-moving filter Filter change/field screening count twice

weekly, mailed to fixed lab Typical 1 fCi/cubic meter sensitivity

• Add telemetry and real-time gamma spectrometry

• Add locations to improve coverage

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• Quantitative isotopic measurements at required sensitivity

• Available commercial products – no R&D• Small size – must fit in available space• Able to operate continuously at remote locations,

with minimal attention by diverse mix of operators Rugged – weather enclosure, but no heating

or cooling; vibration from sampler Automatic re-start after power interruption Stable calibration

Functional Requirements

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General Specifications

• Fully integrated monitoring system– One enclosure/power supply for all

components– Flow regulated hi-volume air sampler – Gamma energy spectrometry & gross beta– Data telemetry in near-real-time by multiple

redundant methods– Attached retractable mast for antennas and

optional wind speed/direction sensors• Onsite installation and operator training by

factory service representative• Remote calibration by telemetry

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• Gamma energy range 50 – 2000 KeV• Gross beta• Reject alphas below 8 MeV• Programmable acquisition intervals• Data out:

– Counts/acquisition interval for 10 γ ROIs, β– Full gamma energy spectrum stored locally

Radiation Detection

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• Collect air sample continuously• Acquire γ spectrum, β counts for 1 hour• Transmit γ ROI and β counts to NAREL, store

spectrum locally• Computer at NAREL assesses incoming data for

rate of change and upper limit, notifies staff on “alarm”– Upload full spectrum, perform quantitative

analysis at NAREL• Filter changed and mailed to NAREL 2/week as

currently done

Anticipated Operating Mode

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Proof of ConceptFixed Monitor

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Proof of Concept

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RadNet Coverage Goals

• Near-real-time Monitoring

• Approximately 70% population coverage (about 180 cities/sites)

• Approximately 100% geographic coverage

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Siting Considerations

• Population Coverage• Current ERAMS Station Locations and

Volunteers• Geographic Coverage

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Population Coverage

– Provides monitoring for as many citizens as possible.

– Provides more comprehensive health impact determination.

– Greater population coverage gives potential for easier buy-in from decision makers and citizens.

– Recommended in SAB Advisories.

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Current ERAMS Locations for Some RadNet Monitors

– Already have operators, depending upon the method we ultimately choose to obtain operators.

– Baseline data are available for each station.– Stations may not be in densely populated areas.

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Geographic Coverage

– Will provide better geographical coverage of the United States.

– Fills in spatial gaps that will exist, providing modelers with better data for transport over non-populated regions, which may assist in predictions and protective action recommendations for larger cities downwind.

– Added Stations will not be in major cities.

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What is a Deployable?

A Deployable is a unit similar to a fixed RadNet monitor, in that it measures ambient environmental gamma radiation levels in near real-time, and also collects airborne radioactivity with high and low-volume air samplers.

The deployables are to be stored in a state of readiness at the Montgomery, Alabama and Las Vegas, Nevada laboratories and will be deployed to the scene of a radiological incident or in case of an imminent threat.

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• HIGH VOLUME AIR SAMPLER

• LOW VOLUME AIR SAMPLER

• GAMMA EXPOSURE INSTRUMENT

• POWER DISTRIBUTION PANEL

• SATELLITE TELEMETRY

• DATA LOGGER

• PDA

• PLATFORM

Components of Deployable Unit

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Gamma Exposure Instrument• Genitron Gamma Tracer with two compensated GM detectors

• Data is sent to the data logger for satellite transmission

• Secured to station by wire mesh housing

• Positioned one meter off ground

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Who are the operators?• Depending on urgency and the funding source, options include

EPA personnel, contractors, or personnel chosen by the customer (state or local government, for instance).

• Qualifications:• Available within 12 hours of notification• Not otherwise committed during radiological emergency• Willing to provide work, cell, and home contact information• Able to lift 50 pounds several times • Able to travel for up to two weeks• Willing to work overtime• Minimal technical ability – palm computer, GPS unit, simple

electronic tasks• Current driver’s license

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Data sharing

• Recipients of the data include other EPA programs, state or local governments, DHS, DOE’s FRMAC, the new IMAAC, and potentially, the public.

• During normal operations, data is not released to the ‘customer’ until verification, validation, and review is completed.

• Emergency operations warrant expediting the review process, in case the preliminary data can be used by decision makers to take protective actions.

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Potential RadNet Partnerships

• Other EPA Offices– Regionally and Nationally

• Interagency Monitoring and Atmospheric Assessment Center (IMAAC)

• National Response Team• DHS, DOE, NRC, FEMA, DOD

• YOU