Expanding the Citizens Radiological Monitoring Network

It was a beautiful April morning, and our Network Administrator Mike Mansir loaded up the trailer, slapped the C-10 magnets on his jeep and packed enough coffee to keep him running.

He headed to a private home in Hampton, New Hampshire—near the junction of Routes 101 and 95.  It's about 4.5 miles north of Seabrook Station, and a great addition to the nation's only independent radiological monitoring network surrounding a commercial nuclear power plant. (Did we say that already?) 

Mike spent the better part of the day installing the new station as part of the Citizens Radiological Monitoring network. He installed a radiological probe to measure beta and gamma radiation, a wind anemometer and a small, rugged EBOX computer. By the end of the day, Mike had the station communicating with our central station in Amesbury, Massachusetts, and sending readings in near real-time.

The work was made possible by a grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the leadership of Portsmouth State Rep. Peter Somssich, as well as the generosity of the homeowners, who are C-10 members and relative newcomers to the Seacoast. We make a practice of not disclosing the location of our stations at private residences.

I was able to stop by and watch Mike at work, as was Rep. Somssich, whose persistence and generosity have helped support investments in the network over recent years. It was another exciting day for C-10, and thanks to Mike's hard work and careful planning, all went well.

While the Massachusetts portion of the network has benefited from state support since almost as long as C-10 has existed, New Hampshire has yet to muster the political will to fund independent monitoring "outside the fence." 

Now we have a total of seventeen stations within Seabrook's 10-mile emergency planning zone, plus a control site in Somerville, Mass. We're working to find one more location in Kensington, N.H., to help round out the coverage area.

The data we collect allows state agencies to track ongoing permitted radiological releases, and could help emergency responders and health officials to protect the public in the unlikely event of an accident at Seabrook Station.

You can learn more about the Citizens Radiological Monitoring Network on our website here, where you can also download an overview of our monitoring and reporting protocols, and see more pictures of equipment. 

C-10 has been operating the monitoring network since 1991. We rely on the support of our members and charitable foundations as well as the ongoing contract with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, to provide this important public service. To support radiological monitoring in New Hampshire, click here.