Engineering topics

Becker, Eric M.

Publications and source records attributed to Becker, Eric M..

3 records

DOE OSTI2026

Emergency Radiation Dose Rate Monitoring During Prolonged Armed Conflict

The 2022 Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine has introduced unprecedented challenges for the nuclear power generation and radiological safety communities, including occupation and disturbance of highly-contaminated areas, occupation of a nuclear power plant, and strikes near and within boundaries of nuclear sites. The war has necessitated the implementation of a supplementary dose rate sensor network to provide resilient measurement data for public protection and leadership awareness. This paper discusses the implementation of such a system, the factors determining what equipment is best suited for the purpose, and practical factors regarding deployment of the system and data management. The crucial factors for operating a supplementary dose rate sensing network are backup power and communications options for dose rate sensors to make the network resilient to the effects of military operations. The most important implementation factor is to plan for extended operations beyond those typically considered for emergency response given the unpredictable nature of warfare.

resilience↗

DOE OSTI2022

Radiological Data Assessment Guidance for Emergency Response

This document provides guidance on how to apply data quality practices to measurements and information collected during the response and recovery to a radiological release. The process of applying data quality practices to measurement data is called data assessment. All data quality practices applied during a radiological incident response must balance the rigorous and time-consuming process normally applied to, for example, site decommissioning and decontamination, with the time- and resource-constraints present during emergency response. The guidance in this document presents the application of data quality practices for data assessment in a graded approach, where the recommended rigor increases as the response continues through its phases and as time and resource constraints relax.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2022

Recommendations for Radiological Data Assessment Implementation

Since thorough verification, validation, and data quality assessment (DQA) processes may delay incident commanders and elected and appointed officials from making key decisions, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL) tasked Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to develop tools and guidance for the federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial (FSLTT) responders using research, discussions with select FSLTT responders, and the experiences of subject matter experts in incident response. This report provides NUSTL with recommendations on best practices for verification, validation, and data quality assessment for the data collected by responders during a radiological or nuclear event. The purpose of this report is to inform the development of a DQA toolkit aimed at the needs of data assessors during the response to a radiological incident.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗