Finnish Remote Environmental Monitoring System

Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) have undertaken a joint effort to demonstrate the use of remote monitoring for environmental air sampling and safeguards applications. The results of the task will be used by the IAEA to identify the feasibility, cost-effectiveness, reliability, advantages, and problems associated with remote environmental monitoring. An essential prerequisite for a reliable remote air sampling system is the protection of samples against tampering. This can be ensured in two ways; first, the air sampling station has to be properly enclosed and there should be continuous surveillance on site. The SNL-developed remote monitoring system provides continuous surveillance of the air sampling station and the room where it is located. Second, when the sample is taken out from the air sampling station, one has to be sure of the sample authentication. This can be done using barcodes, by checking the radiochemical consistency of the sample and by checking if the sample is intact. For checking the consistency of the sample after it has left the sampling station, STUK has developed methods to add authentication tracers to the sample. A unique aspect to this project is the network integration of remote monitoring equipment with a STUK environmental monitoring system. This integration allows inspectors to remotely view air sampler radiation data and remote monitoring sensor/image data through separate software applications on the same review station.