Wireless remote radiation monitoring system (WRRMS). Innovative technology summary report

The Science Application International Corporation (SAIC) RadStar trademark wireless remote radiation monitoring system (WRRMS) is designed to provide real-time monitoring of the radiation dose to workers as they perform work in radiologically contaminated areas. WRRMS can also monitor dose rates in a room or area. The system uses radio-frequency communications to transmit dose readings from the wireless dosimeters worn by workers to a remote monitoring station that can be located out of the contaminated area. Each base station can monitor up to 16 workers simultaneously. The WRRMS can be preset to trigger both audible and visual alarms at certain dose rates. The alarms are provided to the worker as well as the base station operator. This system is particularly useful when workers are wearing personal protective clothing or respirators that make visual observation of their self-reading dosimeters (SRDs), which are typically used to monitor workers, more difficult. The base station is an IBM-compatible personal computer that updates and records information on individual workers every ten seconds. Although the equipment costs for this improved technology are higher than the SRDs (amortized at $2.54/hr versus $1.02/hr), total operational costs are actually less ($639/day versus $851/day). This is because the WRRMS requires fewer workers to be in the contaminated zone than the traditional (baseline) technology. There are also intangible benefits associated with improved worker safety and as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) principles, making the WRRMS an attractive alternative to the baseline technology. The baseline technology measures only integrated dose and requires workers to check their own dosimeters manually during the task