A comparison of different detection techniques for 137Cs measurements of cattle in vivo.

Agricultural lands with farm animals (e.g. cattle) can be significantly affected by radioactive contamination following nuclear or radiation accidents.

Modelling the atmospheric dispersion of radiotracers in small-scale, controlled detonations: validation of dispersion models using field test data.

A series of modelling exercises, based on field tests conducted in the Czech Republic, were carried out by the 'Urban' Working Groups as part of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety II, Modelling and Data for Radiological Impact Assessment (MODARIA) I and MODARIA II international data compilation and model validation programmes. In the first two of these programmes, data from a series of field tests involving dispersion of a radiotracer,Tc, from small-scale, controlled detonations were used in a comparison of model predictions with field measurements of deposition. In the third programme, data from a similar field test, involving dispersion ofLa instead ofTc, were used.

Urban working groups in the IAEA's model testing programmes: overview from the MODARIA I and MODARIA II programmes.

The IAEA's model testing programmes have included a series of Working Groups concerned with modelling radioactive contamination in urban environments. These have included the Urban Working Group of Validation of Environmental Model Predictions (1988-1994), the Urban Remediation Working Group of Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety (EMRAS) (2003-2007), the Urban Areas Working Group of EMRAS II (2009-2011), the Urban Environments Working Group of (Modelling and Data for Radiological Impact Assessments) MODARIA I (2013-2015), and most recently, the Urban Exposures Working Group of MODARIA II (2016-2019). The overarching objective of these Working Groups has been to test and improve the capabilities of computer models used to assess radioactive contamination in urban environments, including dispersion and deposition processes, short-term and long-term redistribution of contaminants following deposition events, and the effectiveness of various countermeasures and other protective actions, including remedial actions, in reducing contamination levels, human exposures, and doses to humans.

Low Radon Cleanroom for Underground Laboratories.

Aim of a low radon cleanroom technology is to minimize at the same time radon, radon decay products concentration and aerosol concentration and to minimize deposition of radon decay products on the surfaces. The technology placed in a deep underground laboratory such as LSM Modane with suppressed muon flux and shielded against external gamma radiation and neutrons provides "Zero dose" space for basic research in radiobiology (validity of the LNT hypothesis for very low doses) and for the fabrication of nanoelectronic circuits to avoid undesirable "single event effects." Two prototypes of a low radon cleanroom were built with the aim to achieve radon concentration lower than 100 mBq·m in an interior space where only radon-free air is delivered into the cleanroom technology from a radon trapping facility.

The use of a CZT detector with robotic systems.

This work is focused on the use of a CZT detector for a radiation mapping with an industrial robotic arm. Measurements were carried out within the RadioRoSo experiment (Radioactive Waste Robotic Sorter), under the umbrella of EU FP7 project ECHORD++. In tests with a dual-arm robot and standard point sources of Cs and Co, a Magnox waste was mimicked.

Advancements in NORM metrology - Results and impact of the European joint research project MetroNORM.

The results of the three years European Metrology Research Programme's (EMRP) joint research project 'Metrology for processing materials with high natural radioactivity' (MetroNORM) are presented. In this project, metrologically sound novel instruments and procedures for laboratory and in-situ NORM activity measurements have been developed. Additionally, standard reference materials and sources for traceable calibration and improved decay data of natural radionuclides have been established.

Size distribution of aerosol particles produced during mining and processing uranium ore.

The aerosol particle size distributions of uranium and its daughter products were studied and determined in the area of the Rožná mine, which is the last active uranium mine in the Czech Republic. A total of 13 samples were collected using cascade impactors from three sites that had the highest expected levels of dust, namely, the forefield, the end of the ore chute and an area close to workers at the crushing plant. The characteristics of most size distributions were very similar; they were moderately bimodal, with a boundary approximately 0.

The portable device for continual measurement of radon progenies on filter using the detector Timepix.

In this article, a portable device was presented for continual measuring of equilibrium equivalent concentration (EEC) of (222)Rn based on the Timepix detector with 300-µm-thick active layer. In order to have a portable device, a filtration head was developed for collecting short-lived radon progenies attached on aerosols. The short-lived progenies are estimated from analysing alphas from decay of (218,214)Po from Millipore filter after termination of filtration.