Establishing a mobile environmental survey system for real-time emergency response

After the 9/11 incident, the needs of environmental survey mobility were increased because the time and place of terrorism attacks are more unpredictable than traditional radiological and nuclear accident. In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to the radiation protection of the survey workers in the field. The Institute of Nuclear Energy Research has established a Mobile Environmental Survey System (MESS) for real time emergency response by using network communication. The system consists of three major functional components: the mobile units, the management center, and the work stations. The system can display real time survey data on an electric map collected by the survey workers from the remote field to improve the environmental survey mobility. The system can also send the survey workers messages/warnings according to geographic information and the location of the mobile unit to keep them from unnecessary radiation exposure that may be an effective way to the goal of "as low as reasonably achievable" for environmental surveys. MESS has been adopted as an essential tool for emergency response in Taiwan. The application experience of MESS in the relative exercises will be discussed in this paper.