Radiological surveys are conducted at sites and facilities to search for hot spots. Surface areas passed over by survey devices, referred to as transects, run in a relatively straight line (as much as terrain permits) from one point of a site to another. When a radiological sensor system is deployed continuously along transects, anomalous readings may be recorded. A goal of these surveys is to identify areas of high radiological readings consistent with that of a hot spot. This module in VSP allows for testing of a site to determine if areas of the site have values above a specific critical value. Areas of interest are flagged on the map in VSP.
To begin the process, the user should set up the map and import the location and value data into the Data Analysis page.
The user selects the analyte (if there is more than one in the data) and the Critical Value. The Critical Value is an upper bound of acceptable radiological levels, and windows are flagged if they exceed this value.
The user selected the size of the marker (red grid cell) to place on the map at locations that exceed the critical value.
The Flag Locations button begins the evaluation of values on the site.
To further analyze the data, it may be useful to use the Delineate Hot Areas page to automatically group the markers together into contiguous geographical areas (hot areas). The Delineate Hot Areas page generally follows the principles outlined on the Delineate High Density Areas page.
Matzke BD, JE Wilson, and BA Pulsipher. 2006. Version 4.4 Visual Sample Plan (VSP): New UXO Module Target Detection Methods. PNNL-15843, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA.