A Remote continuous air monitoring system for measuring airborne alpha contamination

Morishita, Yuki   ; Usami, Hiroshi; Furuta, Yoshihiro; Aoki, Katsunori ; Tsurudome, Koji; Hoshi, Katsuya ; Torii, Tatsuo  

We developed a remote continuous air monitoring (RCAM) system. The RCAM system consisted of a personal air monitor and a robot. The personal air monitor (poCAMon, SARAD, Germany) had a 400 mm ion-injected silicon detector and a membrane air filter with 25 mm-diameter. The personal air monitor provides the alpha energy spectra for any measurement time interval. Demonstration measurements were taken underground at the Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory (MIU) and at a poorly ventilated concrete building. The RCAM system was remotely operated and successfully measured the Rn progeny even though the relative humidity (RH) was almost 100%. In the measured alpha spectra, the peaks of Po (6.0 MeV alpha) and Po (7.7 MeV alpha) were clearly identified. Our developed monitor is promising for alpha dust monitoring in a high gamma-ray environment or contaminated areas where a worker cannot safely physically enter.