Institute of Energy Technologies

Atmospheric Radiological Control Station Network

Location

 

Address: Avda. Diagonal, 647. 08028 Barcelona
Telephone: +34 934016740 / +34 934016049
E-mail: arturo.vargasatupc.edu, claudia.grossi@upc.edu

 

 

 

 

 

Staff

 

Technical Director: Arturo Vargas Drechsler
Engineers: Claudia Grossi, Roger Curcoll Masanes

 

 

 

 

 

Aims

 
  • The aim of the network is to provide automatic, continuous measurement of radiological and meteorological variables at two stations ofthe UPC campus so that environmental studies of atmospheric radionuclides can be carried out.

 

 

 

 

 

Activities

 
Currently, the network has two main stations, one located on the Campus Sud and the other on Campus Besos of the UPC, both in Barcelona city. Towards the north-northeast of the station there is Collserola a mountainous area with an average altitude of 400 metres, the highest peak is Tibidabo which is 512 metres high. In the south-southeast sector there is the Mediterranean sea.

The stations are equipped with different instruments to continuously measure ambient dose equivalent rate, radon concentration in air and radio nuclide identification in a radioactive cloud or deposited on the surface.

In addition, a filter collects the aerosol particles in a weekly basis, which is measured by gamma spectrometry to calculate the concentration of radionuclides in air.

 

 

 

 

 

Equipment

 

The station located at Campus Sud is on the roof of the main premises of the Institute of Energy Technologies (INTE) of the UPC. The radiological variables currently measured are:

  • Environmental dose rate (H*(10)), using a proportional counter of Bitt Technology, model RS04L/WEB_R and property of the French Radiological Monitoring Network(IRSN). Data are shown in almost Real-Time within the EUropean Radiological Data Exchange Platform (EURDEP) network (https://remap.jrc.ec.europa.eu/Simple.aspx)
  • Atmospheric radon concentration measured on hourly basis by a self-developed monitor, called ARMON (Atmospheric Radon MONitor). Currently the monitor is at Saclay station (Paris) in the framework of the traceRadon European Project (http://traceradon-empir.eu/) 
  • Self-developed Spectro-dosemeter based on a NaI 2”x2” scintillator detector, called DoRayMon (Dose Rate Monitor). Currently the monitor is at ENEA station (Rome) in the framework of the traceRadon European Project (http://traceradon-empir.eu/).
  • Aerosol Sampling Stations– ASS-500 high volume samplers. Air-flow rate of more than 500 m3/h. The filter is changed and measured once per week in the UPC laboratory  with a HPGe detector.

The station located at Campus Besos is on the roof of Building C. At this Campus different monitors are installed temporarily for specific studies. Currently, possible monitors to install at this station are in different stations of Europe in the framework of research projects and, therefore, no current monitoring is on-going.