Nuclear energy is an alternate source of power generated by nuclear reaction as a result of fission or fusion that can provide electricity in place of fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum. However, the nuclear explosion in Chernobyl that happened 25 years ago shows how dangerous nuclear radiation is. Therefore, recent nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear plant in Japan increased people’s concerns about the environmental impacts a nuclear radiation might cause. To monitor the areas around nuclear plants, radiation detectors are heavily used at the Fukushima Nuclear plant and continued to be used at Chernobyl.
Most forms of radiation in small doses are non-harmful to humans and the environment unlike large doses of radiation that can become fatal. Twenty five years after the Chernobyl reactor explosion, the city of Pripyat still sits vacant because of the high levels of radiation. The city was evacuated with many people leaving personal belongings behind which are still there to this day. There are still workers in Chernobyl who try to keep the radiation contained.

They must wear radiation detectors and work in the reactor area for no more than fifteen minutes a day. The reason of the Chernobyl nuclear accident was a violation of certain rules and regulations which caused reactor number four going critical and exploding. The explosion released a large dose of radiation in the area which later traveled around the globe. The Soviet Union did not make the nuclear disaster public until several days after the accident when other countries began to question the increase in radiation detected by the radiation detectors.
Unlike Chernobyl, Fukushima Nuclear plant’s accident was the result of a major earthquake in the region, the fallout is going to have long lasting effects. Radiation from the disaster reached the western coastline of the United States which has been monitored using the EPA’s RadNet radiation detectors. These stationary devices are mounted on top of certain buildings which constantly monitor radiation levels in the United States. The radiation detector system collects radiation samples from surrounding air and precipitation as well as drinking water and milk in the area of concern. Nuclear plant workers are required to wear personal radiation detectors to ensure that the radiation exposure is kept at acceptable levels.

Each worker has an assigned device that collects data off at regular intervals. If there are high levels of radiation collected off the device, the personnel nuclear plant will track the location of the employee during the exposure, detect the problem and fix it before it becomes critical and affects general public. Universal Detection Technology provides radiation detectors to nuclear plants, government agencies and local agencies as well as general public for personal use. The company has over thirty years of experience in air monitoring as well as providing detection solutions for chemical, biological and radiological weapons. For further information about radiation monitoring solutions, visit our website at www.udetection.com or call us at 310-248-3655.