DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARCTIC RADIONUCLIDE MONITORING STATION

In recent years, the world has learned about the dumping of nuclear re actors and other waste into the Arctic seas by the former Soviet Union . Most of the information on the present levels of radioactivity in th e region has been obtained by oceanographic expeditions conducted duri ng the brief Arctic summers. Year-round monitoring of the movement of radioactivity during dynamic seasonal and episodic chances is hampered by the difficulties caused by sea ice, logistics and communication co nstraints associated with deployment and maintenance of monitoring equ ipment in this remote region. We have designed an autonomous station t o measure the benthic gamma-ray emitting radioactivity for periods of at least one year. The station is capable of detecting a 30 Bq/m(3) in crease in the Cs-137 activity in a 24 hour period. After a year-long d eployment, the station releases its anchor and rises to the surface to transmit the accumulated spectra and oceanographic data via an Argos satellite link. The design and performance characteristics of the prot otype station will be discussed.