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Nuclear monitoring technician position description
Nuclear Monitoring Technicians calculate the limits of safe radiation exposure times for nuclear power plant personnel, using plant contamination readings and prescribed safe levels of radiation as set forth by industry and governmental standards for nuclear power plants. Nuclear Monitoring Technicians check personnel to determine the amounts and intensities of radiation exposure. They provide the initial response to any abnormal events and to any alarms generated by their radiation monitoring equipment. They instruct nuclear plant personnel in radiation safety procedures and demonstrate the use of protective clothing and equipment. They monitor the time/intensity of exposure of personnel working in such higher risk sections as nuclear waste disposal areas. They may make periodic urinalyses of personnel and notify the supervisor when overexposure to radiation is indicated from such tests. They inform plant supervisors when individual exposures or specific radiation levels approach maximum permissible limits.
Throughout both production times and downtimes, they determine the intensities and types of radiation present in work areas, on equipment, and in materials by employing various radiation detectors (such as beta-gamma survey meters, gamma-background monitors, and alphabeta-gamma counters) and other monitoring equipment. They collect air samples to determine airborne concentration of radioactivity, as well as samples of water, gases, and solids to determine radioactivity levels, and document any excessive contamination. In addition, they collect and analyze monitoring equipment worn by plant personnel, such as film badges and pocket detection chambers, or measure individual exposure to radiation.
Nuclear Monitoring Technicians set up equipment throughout nuclear power plants that, automatically, will detect area radiation deviations, and they check all types of detection equipment used to ensure its accuracy. They calibrate and maintain chemical instrumentation sensing elements and sampling system equipment, using calibration instruments and hand tools. They take smear tests of suspected contaminated areas by wiping the floor with filter paper and placing the paper into a radiation scaler to obtain a contamination count. From the results of this testing, they may recommend work stoppage in unsafe areas, post warning signs, and even rope off contaminated areas. They log into computers all their collected data, such as status of areas being decontaminated, the rate of radiation exposure to personnel, and location and intensity of radioactivity in infected areas.
Nuclear Monitoring Technicians determine or recommend to plant supervisory personnel specific radioactive decontamination procedures, according to the size and nature of the equipment involved and the degree of contamination. In addition, they themselves will decontaminate objects by cleaning them with special soap or solvents or by abrading them with wire brushes, buffing wheels, or sandblasting machines. They may weigh and mix decontamination chemical solutions in a tank and, using hoist equipment, immerse objects into these solutions for specified periods.
Nuclear Monitoring Technicians prepare reports on contamination tests, material and equipment decontaminated, and methods used in the decontamination process. They work closely with the plant's health physicist and nuclear engineers involved directly with nuclear fuels, the nuclear reactor, and other highly radioactive areas of the plant and usually report directly to top-level nuclear plant supervisory personnel.
Salaries and other benefits
Annual earnings for Nuclear Monitoring Technicians range from lows of about US Dollars 35,000 to highs of US Dollars 70,000 or more, according to industry sources. Wages will vary according to geographic location (to a degree) and to experience (the primary determinant).