Rapid Deployment Consequence Monitor Conceptual Design

When a radiological dispersal event occurs (inadvertently or intentionally), emergency responders must assess the hazards in the impacted area in order to manage the consequences of the event. Tracking the dispersal cloud and making decisions regarding site assessment, control, mitigation, containment, remediation, and monitoring are contingent on the accurate acquisition of dispersal data obtained in near-real time. Current methods of obtaining this information are labor-intensive, slow, expensive, and risky. This paper describes a conceptual design for the Rapid Deployment Consequence Monitor, which maps and tracks the radiologically affected area, and is being developed as part of the US-Russian Federation Warhead Safety and Security Exchange (WSSX) Agreement. The consequence monitor system will consist of a number of small and selfcontained sensor nodes, which will be easily deployed or distributed in urban or rural field environments. The sensor nodes communicate data to a command post computer at a safe monitoring location. The paper further describes the system design ultimately based on radionuclide dispersion parameters, as well as the types of sensors and their functions, operational algorithms, possible scenarios, and various applications.