The importance of geoprocessing tools in radiometric monitoring of large areas

Throughout history, the natural tendency of men to physically characterize their different surroundings has played an important role on the evolution of societies. Today, that tendency combined to the development of computer technologies, has allowed the accelerated growth of the Geographical Information Systems, which permits the analysis and manipulation of spatial data from diverse sources, producing geo referenced databases. The gamma radiation, one of the main contributors of human exposure to natural radiation, is known for its high penetration energy. Today, the environmental gamma radiation is measured through radiometric tracking mobile units, allowing large scale samplings and precise assessments. As a geo processing case study, a radiometric monitoring work was conducted in the town of Aguas da Prata-SP using a tracking mobile system, composed by a scintillator detector, a GPS and a computer, all installed in a vehicle. The data made of collected points and their respective doses and geographical references were captured and stored in a computer software and then inserted and treated in a GIS environment. After a cartographic base was created using a digitalized map of Aguas da Prata, the sampled points were plotted and interpolated with the cartographic base, producing two maps that demonstrate the tracking route and the gamma radiation dose range throughout the monitored area. Geo processing tools have shown great efficiency in this study, allowing agile manipulation and management of a large quantity of data, thus promoting a spatial analysis of natural radiation levels in the studied region. (author)