Use of gamma spectrometry method for environmental monitoring in the area of NPP

Abstract

It is generally not possible to correctly determine the long and short term impact of human activity upon the environment, without thorough processing of data, obtained through monitoring. It was confirmed that such impact on the environment must be monitored over a long time period. The data obtained must be of high quality, an attribute assured by present state of scientific knowledge. One of the well established methods for monitoring atmospheric deposition of radionuclides in the environment is laboratory and in situ gamma spectrometry. With the aim to monitor an occurrence of a one-time escape or persistent release of fission products into the air, resulting from an operation of a nuclear plant, two types of monitoring are performed: i/ measurement of samples from the environment (Schreber moss, forest humus, pine bark, mushrooms and forest berries) using laboratory gamma spectrometry method in the range up to 3 MeV (those data are used for the trend analysis and for the construction of the contaminationmaps); ii/ in situ gama spectrometry for assessment dosimetry and spectrometry characteristic of photon-fields (those data are used for the dose rate calculation). © 2006 IOP Publishing Ltd.