The Environmental Radiation Research Group is an interdisciplinary research group based in the Department of Science with members from a range of diverse backgrounds, primarily in physics and chemistry. Specific research areas of interest to this group are:
- Environmental Radiation Monitoring, with a particular focus on air monitoring
- High-resolution Gamma Ray Spectroscopy
- Development of accurate methods for the determination of natural radionuclides by high-resolution gamma ray spectrometry.
Members of the ERRG has developed a strategic partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over a number of years in the area of environmental radiation monitoring.
This partnership evolved through initial collaborations on undergraduate projects, the expansion of the laboratory facilities at SETU Waterford and the establishment of the ERRG. This has resulted in the commissioning of a second gamma ray spectrometry system and the installation of a high volume aerosol sampler unit at SETU Waterford, and ongoing collaboration on research projects between the two organisations including the EPA-funded Radioactivity in the Irish Coastal Environment (RICE) project.
Collaboration with EPA
Members of the ERRG have worked to develop a strategic partnership with the EPA over a number of years. A Service Level Agreement (SLA) has recently been agreed between SETU Waterford and the EPA to provide a framework for enhanced cooperation in areas of mutual interest in environmental radiation monitoring. The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications is responsible for Ireland’s National Plan for Nuclear and Radiological Emergency Exposures; the EPA has been assigned a major role in the national response under the plan, with specific responsibilities assigned to its Radiation Monitoring Laboratory. A specific role has been delegated to SETU Waterford under the EPA’s national radioactivity monitoring programme, namely to provide additional laboratory measurement capability to the EPA in the event of a nuclear or radiological emergency.
The SLA will (i) enable the ERRG research group to build on its current monitoring capabilities (ii) develop in-house expertise at SETU Waterford in the measurement and reporting of radiation from high volume (HV) air filters using the technique of gamma ray spectroscopy and (iii) provide results to the EPA’s Radiation Monitoring Laboratory on an on-going basis.
Radioactivity in the Irish Coastal Environment (RICE)
This three-year EPA-funded project is being led by South East Technological University (SETU Waterford) in collaboration with UCD, NUIG and the EPA’s Radiation Monitoring Laboratory. The aim of the project is to provide a status update on artificial radioactivity levels in the Irish coastal environment by revisiting some of the sites from previous surveys whilst, at the same time, widening the scope of these surveys to include a range of natural radionuclides with a view to establish a baseline with which to assess future concentrations.
See here for more information on the RICE project.
