Detection of airborne plutonium

Methods of discriminating against natural background have included  

There remains the problem of statistical accuracy, since the total count in the 239Pu peak, assuming a dosage of 0.008 Bqh m-3 and a counter efficiency of 32%, is less than 3 cpm. A statistical problem of another kind lies in the fact that the D.A.C. of 239Pu in air is equivalent to one Pu02 particle of diameter 1.6 jum Per m3 °f air. At a sampling rate of 301 min-1, one such particle would be sampled in half an hour. 

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Ryden, D.J. (1981) Improvements in the detection of airborne plutonium. Report AERE -R 9419. Harwell, Oxfordshire UKAEA. 

Hazard control also requires an accident detection system. In the above case it requires an area airborne monitoring system for the detection of airborne plutonium particulates. 

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