ABSTRACT
There are two basic categories of air monitoring activities that could occur during and or after an airborne release of radioactive materials: (1) monitoring of the radioactive plume during its transport or release to the atmosphere, and (2) monitoring to determine resuspension of the released material after it has been deposited on the ground. An example of plume measurement would be the case for most accidental or incidental releases from nuclear facilities. These facilities would have real-time air monitoring equipment in place for monitoring planned releases and/or for verifying any lack of releases. A resuspension measurement would consist of taking an air sample downwind of the plumes footprint after the plume had settled out. Resuspension from surface radioactivity is an issue not only with known releases but also any unexpected, malicious use of radioactivity (because of the expected delay in recognizing that radioactivity was involved until after the plume has dispersed). Resuspension is more of a long-term air monitoring effort because ground deposition may prove to be a source term for indeterminate lengths of time after the event itself (depending on precipitation and other factors). These two categories (plume and resuspension) will be addressed independently.
