An Aerial Radiological Survey of Selected Areas of the City of North Las Vegas

As part of the proficiency training for the Radiological Mapping mission of the Aerial Measuring System (AMS), a survey team from the Remote Sensing Laboratory-Nellis (RSL-Nellis) conducted an aerial radiological survey of selected areas of the city of North Las Vegas for the purpose of mapping natural radiation background and locating any man-made radioactive sources. Survey areas were selected in collaboration with the City Manager's office and included four separate areas: (1) Las Vegas Motor Speedway (10.6 square miles); (2) North Las Vegas Downtown Area (9.2 square miles); (3) I-15 Industrial Corridor (7.4 square miles); and (4) Future site of University of Nevada Las Vegas campus (17.4 square miles). The survey was conducted in three phases: Phase 1 on December 11-12, 2007 (Areas 1 and 2), Phase 2 on February 28, 2008 (Area 3), and Phase 3 on March 19, 2008 (Area 4). The total completed survey covered a total of 44.6 square miles. The flight lines (without the turns) over the surveyed areas are presented in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4. A total of eight 2.5-hour-long flights were performed at an altitude of 150 ft above ground level (AGL) with 300 feet of flight-line spacing. Water line and test line flights were conducted over the Lake Mead and Government Wash areas to ensure quality control of the data. The data were collected by the AMS data acquisition system (REDAR V) using an array of twelve 2-inch x 4-inch x 16-inch sodium iodide (NaI) detectors flown on-board a twin-engine Bell 412 helicopter. Data, in the form of gamma energy spectra, were collected continually (every second) over the course of the survey and were geo-referenced using a differential Global Positioning System. Collection of spectral data allows the system to distinguish between ordinary fluctuations in natural background radiation levels and the signature produced by man-made radioisotopes. Spectral data can also be used to identify specific radioactive isotopes. As a courtesy service, with the approval of the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Site Office, RSL-Nellis is providing this summary to the office of the Mayor of the City of North Las Vegas along with the gross-count-based exposure rate and man-made count contour maps and GIS shape files in electronic format on a compact disk

Methodology for Assessing Radiation Detectors Used by Emergency Responders

The threat of weapons of mass destruction terrorism resulted in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security deploying large quantities of radiation detectors throughout the emergency responder community. However, emergency responders specific needs were not always met by standard health physics instrumentation used in radiation facilities. Several American National Standards Institute standards were developed and approved to evaluate the technical capabilities of detection equipment. Establishing technical capability is a critical step, but it is equally important to emergency responders that the instruments are easy to operate and can withstand the rugged situations they encounter. The System Assessment and Validation for Emergency Responders (SAVER) Program (managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Grants and Training, Systems Support Division) focuses predominantly on the usability, ergonomics, readability, and other features of the detectors, rather than performance controlled by industry standards and the manufacturers. National Security Technologies, LLC, as a SAVER Technical Agent, conducts equipment evaluations using active emergency responders who are familiar with the detection equipment and knowledgeable of situations encountered in the field, which provides more relevant data to emergency responders

An Aerial Radiological Survey of the City of North Las Vegas (Downtown) and the Motor Speedway

As part of the proficiency training for the Radiological Mapping mission of the Aerial Measuring System (AMS), a survey team from the Remote Sensing Laboratory-Nellis (RSL-Nellis) conducted an aerial radiological survey on December 11-12, 2007, with the purpose of mapping natural radiation background and locating any man-made radioactive sources. The survey covered 19.4 square miles (9.2 square miles over the downtown area of the City of North Las Vegas and 10.2 square miles over the Las Vegas Motor Speedway [LVMS]). The flight lines over the surveyed areas are presented in Figures 1 and 2. A total of four 2.5-hour-long flights were performed at an altitude of 150 ft above ground level (AGL) with 300 ft of flight line spacing. Water line and test line flights were conducted over the Lake Mead and Government Wash areas to ensure quality control of the data. The data were collected by the AMS data acquisition system-REDAR V using an array of twelve 2-inch x 4-inch x 16-inch sodium iodide (NaI) detectors flown on-board a twin-engine Bell 412 helicopter. Data in the form of gamma energy spectra were collected continually (every second) over the course of the survey and were geo-referenced using a differential Global Positioning System. Collection of spectral data allows the system to distinguish between ordinary fluctuations in natural background radiation levels and the signature produced by man-made radioisotopes sources. Spectral data can also be used to identify specific radioactive isotopes. As a courtesy service with the approval of the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Site Office, RSL-Nellis is providing this summary to the office of the Mayor of City of North Las Vegas and LVMS security along with the gross counts-based exposure rate and man-made counts maps

Improvement in understanding the deposition of ambient dust particles on ECAM (environmental continuous air monitor) filters, reduction of the alpha-particle interference of radon progeny and other radioactive aerosols in different particle size ranges on filters, and development of ECAMs with increased sensitivity under dusty outdoor conditions.

Improvement in understanding the deposition of ambient dust particles on ECAM (environmental continuous air monitor) filters, reduction of the alpha-particle interference of radon progeny and other radioactive aerosols in different particle size ranges on filters, and development of ECAMs with increased sensitivity under dusty outdoor conditions

Investigation of Techniques to Improve Continuous Air Monitors Under Conditions of High Dust Loading in Environmental Setting. 1998 Annual Progress Report

'Improvement in understanding of the deposition of ambient dust particles on ECAM (Environmental Continuous Air Monitor) filters, reduction of the alpha-particle interference of radon progeny and other radioactive aerosols in different particle size ranges on filters, and development of ECAM''s with increased sensitivity under dusty outdoor conditions. As of May 1, 1998 (1/2 year into the project) the research-prototype 30-cm pulsed ionization chamber (PIC) is assembled and operational with an alpha particle energy resolution of better than 45 keV for 5-MeV alpha particles. Measurements of spectral resolution for alpha particles from radon decay products have been made as a function of filter type and dust loading conditions. So far, a study of ten filter types has found that the best combination of resolution and throughput is obtained with 3.0 \265m Millipore fluoropore and 1.0 \265m Corning FNMB filters. Experiments with gypsum and Portland cement dust in the size range 1 to 20 \265m indicate significant degradation in alpha particle resolution for dust loading above about 0.5 mg cm{sup -2}. Study of metalized films for possible use as a PIC window indicate a minimum broadening of 5-MeV alpha particle peaks from 43 (no film) to 301 keV (with film) for AVR film type B8 (0.20 mg cm{sup -2} polycarbonate). A modified ECAM sampling head, equipped with an optical microscopy system feeding data to a high resolution video data capture and logging instrument, was constructed. This system will enable time-lapse study of dust build-up on ECAM filters and formation of dendrite structures that can reduce alpha-particle resolution.

Radon and radon progeny in the Carlsbad Caverns

Measurements were made in July 1994 to determine air exchange rate, aerosol characteristics, radon concentrations, and radon progeny activity size distributions in the Carlsbad Caverns. The measured radon concentrations were stable at a level of 1821 ± 55 Bq m?3 (mean ±SD). Using a SF6 trace gas method, it was determined that stagnant air in the Caverns was exchanged once every 18 days. The stagnant air was a key factor in maintaining stable environmental conditions and radon concentration. The low air exchange and few aerosol sources inside the Caverns also contributed to the low aerosol concentrations of between 200 and 400 cm ?3—orders of magnitude lower than mining, indoor, and outdoor environments. The alpha spectrum showed radon progeny but no thoron progeny, which may be a result of the long transport time for radioactive gases to diffuse from the deep rock to the cave. The activity size distribution of radon progeny showed typical bimodal distributions with higher unattached fractions [69–99% for 218Po and 25–59% for potential alpha energy concentration (PAEC)] than other natural environments. The high unattached fraction was attributed to the extremely low aerosol concentration. The total PAEC was 4.36 × 10–6 ± 0.51 × 10–6 J m–3 (mean ± SD). Considering the seasonal variation in radon concentration, the estimated cumulative exposure of 1.65 working level months (WLMs) for a worker spending 2000 h in the Carlsbad Caverns with the observed radon concentration seems high, but it is still below the recommended occupational exposure limit for underground uranium miners. However, because of the higher unattached fraction found in the Caverns, calculated doses are much higher than would be expected in a uranium mine under the same WLMs and may exceed the recommended annual dose limits for uranium miners