Abstract. The European Model for Inhabited Areas (ERMIN) was developed to allow a user to explore different recovery options following the contamination of an urban environment with radioactive material and to refine an appropriate strategy for the whole region affected. The input data include a description of the environment, initial deposition of radionuclides on to a reference surface and a description of countermeasures. Output information includes the average doses to members of the public from external exposure to gamma and beta radiation from deposited radionuclides and inhalation of resuspended radioactivity, the contamination on urban surfaces, the activity concentration in air from resuspension, the doses to workers undertaking the recovery work, the quantity and activity of waste generated and the cost and work required to implement the countermeasure. ERMIN has been designed to be implemented as a tool that supports the approach of decision-makers and allows the area to be broken down into smaller regions where different conditions prevail and different countermeasure packages are enacted.
Most of the commercial greenhouses in the world are enveloped by Polyethylene (PE) and Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) sheets of 120-150 µm in thickness instead of glass plates which are heavier and much more expensive. Plants inside these greenhouses miss about 10% of sun light which can not penetrate through the PVC or PE sheets. Dust particles lying on the roof sheets scatter the light rays and prevent up to about 30% of additional light energy from entering into the growth space of the greenhouse. Scratches can be formed by the dust particles rolling and moving on the plastic sheets. Because of this, the grower has losses of about 30% in weight, and yield quality is lower than that of the yields from greenhouses with clean roofs. PE and PVC sheet producers add, among other additives, an additive that prevents dust from sinking on the roof sheets. Trial results have not shown a significant difference in radiation blockage between sheets with anti dust additive and those without additive. Growers need to clean the greenhouse roofs every week or two to prevent the dust from creating a layer formation that will cover the roof sheets. The cleaning is done by workers who climb to the roofs and remove the dust using brushes. The development of cleaning machinery is an urgent necessity for saving hard labor and avoiding risks to workers. The design and production of a cleaning machine works were started aiming to establish a first prototype for field trials.
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