ABSTRACT
Alpha continuous air monitoring practice refers to a process whereby an air sample is continuously collected into a suitable instrument and onto a lter, and simultaneously, in real-time (or near realtime), analyzed as the sample gets collected. The instrument used in this practice will be referred to as the “alpha-CAM” or simply “CAM.” The major components of a CAM are
Special sample inlet• Holder for the lter• Alpha-radiation detector and preamplier positioned coaxially over the lter• Flow measuring device• Data accumulation and storage electronics• Embedded computer with its associated rmware and spectroscopy software• Audible alarm for worker notication•
Autonomous data analysis in the instrument is based on count data obtained by direct detection of characteristic α-radiation emitted by the radioactive substances collected on a lter. It is thus unlike “continuous sampling” or intermittent “grab sampling,” in which radiological air samples are
Overview of the Practice ................................................................................................................285 Application .....................................................................................................................................288 Contributing Factors to CAM Sensitivity ......................................................................................290
