A COMPREHENSIVE STATION FOR MONITORING ATMOSPHERIC RADIOACTIVITY

A comprehensive station for monitoring atmospheric radioactivity has b een designed and five stations are in operation. The stations measure aerosol beta activity, analyse external radiation, and record electric al conductivity, temperature and rain intensity. The stations are comp uter controlled, but the most important measurements are also recorded with traditional analogue devices. The stations can detect an artific ial beta activity in the aerosol at the level of a few becquerels per cubic metre. In connection with precipitation, an increase of the exte rnal radiation corresponding to 0.01 muSv.h-1 caused by artificial rad ioactivity can be distinguished from variations caused by fluctuations of radon progeny. To avoid false alarms the validity of the data is c hecked against natural phenomena; that is, cosmic radiation, electrica l conductivity, decay curve of radon progeny etc. The measured data ar e available at the network's central station after only a few minutes delay.