Annual Report for 2010/11 and Forward Programme - Sellafield Ltd

SSEM/2011/4730 June 2011The potential for wind-blown transport and for very small radioactive particles to becomesuspended has been the subject of continued discussion and particle inhalation has beenconsidered by the Health Protection Agency in their risk assessment. Further discussions areto be held between SL, Environment Agency and the Health Protection Agency as part of apackage of supplementary work that HPA have been asked to do by the EA (discussedfurther in Section 5). During 2010 Nuvia began operating air sampling equipment duringparticle recovery operations on the beaches. This was introduced as a precautionarymeasure as part of the response to an investigation into the possibility for particle intake bybeach monitoring personnel (discussed further in Section 5). The results from the airsampling and the completed investigation show no evidence for airborne radioactive particlesor their inhalation. Air sampling during particle recovery operations has now become routine.3.4 Monitoring R&D: Evaluation of Airborne Gamma SpectrometryA key piece of ongoing R&D work that has continued through 2010/11 has been themodelling of gamma spectrometry systems, undertaken by the Scottish UniversitiesEnvironmental Research Centre. Previous modelling had indicated that the AirborneGamma Spectrometry (AGS) operated using helicopter, might be capable of detectingSellafield radioactive particles in the environment. This work has been further developedusing data from the Nuvia beach monitoring operations, in order to simulate detection ofSellafield particles on local beaches, taking account of the typical background activity levelsthat are observed.This work required an extension to the original contract. The issued report was submitted toSL in June 2011 and is included in the submission package to EA with this report. Forinformation, SL note the following extracts from the report. © Nuclear Decommissioning Authority 2011. 73