Management and Interpretation of Real-Time Data Collected by US EPA's Environmental Air Radiation Monitoring Network (RadNet)
Oral Presentation
Prepared by D. Askren, S. Telofski
US Environmental Protection Agency, 540 South Morris Avenue, National Analytical Radiation Environmental Laboratory, Montgomery, AL, 36115, United States
Contact Information: askren.dan@epa.gov; 334-270-3400
ABSTRACT
The United States Environmental Protection Agency's national environmental radiation monitoring network (RadNet) generates hourly data files from over 130 stationary, continuously operating air monitoring stations. These data include environmental radiation measurements, air sampling information and instrument health parameters, which are transmitted hourly to EPA’s National Analytical Radiation Environmental Laboratory in Montgomery, AL.
Management and interpretation of these approximately 3,000 data sets each day require a combination of automated screening and manual evaluation. Upon arrival at the laboratory, each hourly data set from each monitor is transferred from a dedicated server to a relational database. This database performs initial screening by comparing measured values to expected ranges. Those data outside expected ranges are flagged for manual review, evaluation and verification.
This manual evaluation is initiated for both analytical data (radiation measurements) and instrument health parameters (various instrument settings and error flags). Elevated radiation measurements are subdivided by the relational database into two tiers. Measurements elevated to the lower tier undergo an initial manual review at the beginning of each day. Measurements elevated to the higher tier prompt immediate notification. In both cases, the cause of elevated radiation measurements is manually evaluated and verified each day by independent spectrometrists.
The automated screening and flagging of instrument health parameters initiates manual determination of potential instrumental problems. This prompts daily remote instrument trouble-shooting and subsequent scheduling of on-site instrument repair as indicated.
The ability to efficiently manage and interpret these large hourly data sets allows timely maintenance and quality control activities as well as rapid identification and quantification of airborne radionuclides. The data collected by the RadNet air monitoring program provide critical information to help determine protective actions during a radiological incident, and the data may also assist rapid refinement of long-range radioactive plume models and population exposure estimates.
Oral Presentation
Prepared by D. Askren, S. Telofski
US Environmental Protection Agency, 540 South Morris Avenue, National Analytical Radiation Environmental Laboratory, Montgomery, AL, 36115, United States
Contact Information: askren.dan@epa.gov; 334-270-3400
ABSTRACT
The United States Environmental Protection Agency's national environmental radiation monitoring network (RadNet) generates hourly data files from over 130 stationary, continuously operating air monitoring stations. These data include environmental radiation measurements, air sampling information and instrument health parameters, which are transmitted hourly to EPA’s National Analytical Radiation Environmental Laboratory in Montgomery, AL.
Management and interpretation of these approximately 3,000 data sets each day require a combination of automated screening and manual evaluation. Upon arrival at the laboratory, each hourly data set from each monitor is transferred from a dedicated server to a relational database. This database performs initial screening by comparing measured values to expected ranges. Those data outside expected ranges are flagged for manual review, evaluation and verification.
This manual evaluation is initiated for both analytical data (radiation measurements) and instrument health parameters (various instrument settings and error flags). Elevated radiation measurements are subdivided by the relational database into two tiers. Measurements elevated to the lower tier undergo an initial manual review at the beginning of each day. Measurements elevated to the higher tier prompt immediate notification. In both cases, the cause of elevated radiation measurements is manually evaluated and verified each day by independent spectrometrists.
The automated screening and flagging of instrument health parameters initiates manual determination of potential instrumental problems. This prompts daily remote instrument trouble-shooting and subsequent scheduling of on-site instrument repair as indicated.
The ability to efficiently manage and interpret these large hourly data sets allows timely maintenance and quality control activities as well as rapid identification and quantification of airborne radionuclides. The data collected by the RadNet air monitoring program provide critical information to help determine protective actions during a radiological incident, and the data may also assist rapid refinement of long-range radioactive plume models and population exposure estimates.
