Decontamination in a Russian settlement

Decontamination was carried out in an area with three houses in Novo Bobovichi, Bryansk region, Russia, in the autumn of 1995. It was demonstrated that significant reductions in the dose rate both indoor (DRF = 0.34) and outdoor (DRF = 0.20) can be achieved when a controlled cleaning is undertaken. This paper describes the decontamination work carried out and the results obtained. The roofs of the houses were swept and cleaned by special roof cleaning equipment. The soil around the houses was removed by hand while carefully monitoring the ground for residual contamination. By monitoring the decline in the dose rate during the different stages of the work the dose reducing effect of each action has been measured.