Testing and assessment of a large BGO detector for beach monitoring of radioactive particles

The Beach Monitoring Steering Group (BMSG) was set up by UKAEA to explore whether improved systems for beach monitoring of radioactive particles are available. The BMSG commissioned the British Geological Survey (BGS) and the Nuclear Geophysics Division of the Kernfysisch Versneller Instituut (KVI/NGD), and other companies, to test their most sensitive system. This paper presents the results of trials in a specially created test facility at UKAEA Harwell with a large BGO detector. The detector's size and weight mean that it would be suitable for vehicle deployment but would be too large and heavy to carry in areas that could not be accessed by a vehicle. However, it would be possible to use the same methodology that is described here with a smaller detector capable of being carried in a backpack, albeit with reduced sensitivity for particle detection. The approach that we present is also applicable, with modifications, to the detection of offshore particles using a towed seabed detector.