Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Warren, Ronald.
Presentation at the 67th Annual Meeting of Health Physics Society, 17–21 July 2022; Spokane, WA - https://hps.org/meetings/meeting53.html
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) operates the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) and the North Las Vegas Facility (NLVF). From 1951 through 1992, the NNSS was the continental testing location for U.S. nuclear weapons. The release of radionuclides from NNSS activities has been monitored since the initiation of atmospheric testing. After 1962, testing was limited to underground detonations, which greatly reduced radiation exposure to the public. Since the end of nuclear testing in 1992, radiation monitoring has focused on detecting airborne radionuclides from historically contaminated soils because this source dominates the potential offsite dose. These radionuclides are derived from re-suspension of soil (primarily by wind) and emission of tritium-contaminated soil moisture through evapotranspiration. Low amounts of legacy-related tritium are also emitted to air at the NLVF, an NNSS support complex in North Las Vegas.
presentation to be given at the 2019 Site Environmental Report / Environmental Monitoring Workshop. This is a meeting of DOE/NNSA environmental monitoring and reporting experts.
This presentation discusses the program of environmental radiation monitoring at the Nevada National Security Site. The program uses thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD), Gamma spectroscopy, DOE Orders, and UNSCEAR-based calculations at multiple locations throughout the Site. The TLD and Gamma spectrocosopy measurements are consistent, and the TLDs can detect low levels above natural background radiation from NNSS operations.