A Fence Line Noble Gas Monitoring System for Nuclear Power Plants

A noble gas monitoring system has been installed at Ontario Power Generations's Pickering Nuclear Generating Station (PNGS) near Toronto, Canada. This monitoring system allows a direct measure of air kerma from external radiation instead of calculating this based on plant emission data and mete...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Radiation protection dosimetry 2001-01, Vol.95 (3), p.249-256
Main Authors: Grasty, R.L., Hovgaard, J., LaMarre, J.R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air
Applied radiobiology (equipment, dosimetry...)
Background Radiation
Biological and medical sciences
Biological effects of radiation
Calibration
Chemical, physic and infectious diseases
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Medical sciences
Monte Carlo Method
Noble Gases - analysis
Nuclear Reactors
Occupational medicine
Physic and infectious agents
Power Plants
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Radiation Monitoring - methods
Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted
Spectrometry, Gamma
Tissues, organs and organisms biophysics
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Summary:A noble gas monitoring system has been installed at Ontario Power Generations's Pickering Nuclear Generating Station (PNGS) near Toronto, Canada. This monitoring system allows a direct measure of air kerma from external radiation instead of calculating this based on plant emission data and meteorological models. This has resulted in a reduction in the reported effective dose from external radiation by a factor of at least ten. The system consists of nine self-contained units, each with a 7.6 cm x 7.6 cm (3 inch x 3 inch) NaI(Tl) detector that is calibrated for air kerma. The 512-channel gamma ray spectral information is downloaded daily from each unit to a central computer where the data are stored and processed. A spectral stripping procedure is used to remove natural background variations from the spectral windows used to monitor xenon-133 (133Xe), xenon-135 (135Xe), argon-41 (41Ar), and skyshine radiation from the use of radiography sources. Typical monthly minimum detection limits in air kerma are 0.3 nGy for 133Xe, 0.7 nGy for 135Xe, 3 nGy for 41Ar and 2 nGy for skyshine radiation. Based on 9 months of continuous operation, the annualised air kerma due to 133Xe, 135Xe and 41Ar and skyshine radiation were 7 nGy, 8 nGy, 26 nGy and 107 nGy respectively.
ISSN:0144-8420
1742-3406
DOI:10.1093/oxfordjournals.rpd.a006548