Aeroradiometric measurements in the framework of the swiss exercise ARM23

Abstract

The flights of the civil (ARM23c) and military (ARM23m) parts of the exercise were performedbetween June 19th and 23rd and between September 11th and September 15th,respectively. The measuring system RLL001 was employed for all measurements. As usual, during the civil exercise the environs of some of the Swiss nuclear power plants were screened, on behalf of the Swiss Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI). At the site of the nuclear power plant Gösgen (KKG) with its pressurized water reactor, the activation products of the primary coolant loop are kept in the well shielded reactor building, thus generating no elevated readings neither on the premises nor in the vicinity of the power plant. The nuclear power plant of Mühleberg (KKM) is now being decommissioned. During this phase, activated components are temporarily stored and processed on the plant premises. The dose rate produced by these components, easily detected and identified with the Swiss airborne gamma spectrometry system, is nevertheless very modest and closely monitored by the Swiss Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI). Search exercises for radionuclide sources were performed in both parts of ARM23. The operational software of the RLL systems was able to detect the radionuclide sources placed in military training areas. The Man-Made Gross-Count (MMGC) ratio demonstrated a good sensitivity for the identification of radionuclide sources. Nevertheless, a weak radionuclide source placed in the field of view of the helicopter (300 m x 300 m at a ground clearance of 100 m) together with a much stronger radionuclide source emitting higher energy photons was obscured due to Compton scattered photons and therefore could not be detected. Measurements of two teams using drones equipped with radiation monitors demonstrated that low flying drones (ground clearance below 10 m) can be a valuable and complementary tool to identify sources and to further reduce the target area to be searched with ground teams. An altitude profile over Lake Constance confirmed the already observed influence of airborne radon progeny on the determination of cosmic and background corrections. Background flights were performed over several Swiss regions. Besides attenuation effects of water bodies, variations of natural radionuclide content could be observed. A new flight strategy in alpine topography was tested near the Swiss mountain Chrüz. Following contour lines of the topography reduces the necessity for drastic flight altitude changes compared to the parallel line pattern normally used, but is much more challenging for the pilots.