Measurement and modelling of radioxenon plumes in the Ottawa Valley.
Since 2001 a real-time radiation monitoring network of Canadian nuclear facilities and major population centres has been implemented for response to nuclear incidents including a possible terrorist attack. Unshielded NaI(Tl) spectroscopic detectors are employed to measure gamma radiation from airborne radioactivity and radioactivity deposited on the ground. These detectors are composed of a standard 3''x3'' cylindrical NaI(Tl) spectrometers with data storage and integrated telemetry. Some of the detectors have been deployed in the Ottawa Valley near Chalk River Laboratories and Ottawa, which has a complex radioxenon environment due to the proximity of nuclear power reactors, and medical isotope facilities. Although not a health threat, these releases have provided an opportunity for the Canadian Meteorological Centre and the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique to validate their meteorological models. The meteorological models of the two organizations are in good agreement on the origin and the source terms of these releases.
Stocki
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TJ
Radiation Protection Bureau, 775 Brookfield Road, A.L. 6302D1, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1A 1C1. trevor_stocki@hc-sc.gc.ca
Armand
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Heinrich
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Ungar
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D'Amours
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Korpach
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Bellivier
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Taffary
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Malo
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Bean
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Hoffman
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Jean
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D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D055904:Meteorology; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009864:Ontario; D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*
D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes