Emergency preparedness of gamma spectrometry laboratories

Abstract

During a radiological emergency (RE) a large area may be non-uniformly contaminated with a number of radionuclides, the ratios of which will change in course of time. At the beginning the contaminated area, where consumption and distribution of foodstuffs will be prohibited, will be delimitated in a very conservative manner. So it will be necessary to specify and locate more accurate borders defining areas with contamination significantly higher, significantly lower and “close” to the limits for ruling out distribution and consumption of commodities. This task can be fulfilled mainly by laboratories equipped with semiconductor gamma spectrometry. The sample throughput of laboratories with semiconductor gamma spectrometry depends on many factors. The paper is dedicated to the questions of adequate sample throughput of the laboratories equipped with gamma spectrometry, factors witch influence the throughput including human capacity for 24 hours working regime, and to the optimization of the work in the laboratories. The capacity and the organization chart of laboratories in the frame of the Radiation monitoring network of the Czech Republic are shown, too.