Radiation Monitoring

Laws and standards

• Exposure limits of general public -- http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part020/part020-1301.html
  • Total effective dose equivalent to individual members of the public < 0.1 rem (1 mSv) / yr, exclusive of the dose contributions from background radiation
  • The dose in any unrestricted area from external sources, < 0.002 rem (0.02 millisievert) in any one hour.
• § 20.1302 Compliance with dose limits for individual members of the public. http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part020/part020-1302.html
  • (a) The licensee shall make or cause to be made, as appropriate, surveys of radiation levels in unrestricted and controlled areas and radioactive materials in effluents released to unrestricted and controlled areas to demonstrate compliance with the dose limits for individual members of the public in § 20.1301.
  • ... (ii) If an individual were continuously present in an unrestricted area, the dose from external sources would not exceed 0.002 rem (0.02 mSv) in an hour and 0.05 rem (0.5 mSv) in a year.

• § 20.1402 Radiological criteria for unrestricted use. -- http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part020/part020-1402.html
  • Requires < 0.25mSv / yr over background radiation, including from groundwater drinking water
  • has some sort of exceptions for "levels that are as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA)."

• § 20.1501 Subpart F--Surveys and Monitoring -- General. -- http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part020/part020-1501.html
  • Must make surveys to evaluate the magnitude and extent of radiation levels; concentrations or quantities of radioactive material; and the potential radiological hazards. Equipment must be calibrated. Personal monitoring dosimeters are specified.
• § 20.1502 Conditions requiring individual monitoring of external and internal occupational dose. -- http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part020/part020-1502.html
  • Must monitor exposures to radiation such that Roughly speaking:
    • Adults < 10% of 50 mSv/yr (i.e. 5 mSv/yr)
    • Minors / Pregnant Women < 1 mSv

• § 20.2103 Records of surveys. -- http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part020/part020-2103.html
  • Maintain records at least 3 years.
  • OR until the Commission terminates each pertinent license requiring the record (includes standard in place before 1994), the following records:
    • Results of surveys to determine the dose from external sources and used, in the absence of or in combination with individual monitoring data, in the assessment of individual dose equivalents.
    • Results of measurements and calculations used to determine individual intakes of radioactive material and used in the assessment of internal dose.
    • Results of air sampling, surveys, and bioassays required pursuant to § 20.1703(c)(1) and (2).
    • Results of measurements and calculations used to evaluate the release of radioactive effluents to the environment.

• § 20.2107 Records of dose to individual members of the public shall be maintained until license termination.

Initiatives

• Radiation Network: http://radiationnetwork.com/
• RadNet (EPA): https://www.epa.gov/radnet
  • San Diego Chart: https://www.epa.gov/radnet/radnet-air-data-san-diego-ca
• URadMonitor: https://www.uradmonitor.com/
  • uRADMonitor means two things: IOT devices equipped with sensors for Environmental monitoring of cities, offices and homes, and a global network of such devices spread in more than 40 countries that generate uniform and comparable Environmental data so we can understand the big picture on pollution.
  • https://hackaday.io/project/1662-global-radiation-monitoring-network
• Safecast is building out a network of monitors: https://blog.safecast.org/
  • The RDTN.org began as an early crowd-sourcing initiative to sponsor and assist in gathering, monitoring and disseminating radiation data from the affected areas.[10] RDTN intended their independent measurements to provide additional context for the radiation data reported by the official factors, to supplement and not to replace the data of the competent authorities.[11] RDTN successfully launched a micropatronage campaign to raise $33,000 in order to buy 100 Geiger counters to jumpstart their network.[12] In April hackers at tokyohackerspace prototyped an Arduino-based geiger counter shield to upload data from geiger counters including from RDTN supplied counters.[13] This prototype later developed into Safecast mobile geo-tagged radiation sensors. RDTN people attributed their success to crisis urgency.[14][15] In late April, one month after its start, RDTN folded itself into Safecast with the joint announcement that RDTN was rebranded as Safecast,[16][17] a citizens' network which continues monitoring radiation levels in Japan.