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A new radiological survey vehicle recently acquired by the Observatory, replacing the old vehicle which has been in service for 12 years, has been officially deployed for carrying out regular tasks such as sampling and in-situ radiation monitoring over various parts of Hong Kong under the framework of "Environmental Radiation Monitoring Programme". In case of nuclear emergency, staff of the Observatory will also make use of the equipment on board the vehicle to carry out mobile radiation measurement at different locations along prescribed survey routes.
In addition to various portable radiation monitoring instruments and sampling tools, supporting facilities of the new vehicle have also been enhanced. A new feature is the meteorological instruments installed on top of the vehicle for the collection of weather data. Coupled with the information obtained from a Geographical Information System, radiological survey strategy can be readily formulated. Armed with a data transmission system developed in-house, survey results can be processed and telemetered efficiently and reliably via mobile telephone networks back to the Observatory headquarters for analysis.
After the nuclear accident at Fukushima, Japan, the new radiological survey vehicle has performed its first routine task in radiation monitoring in April. The environmental radiation levels measured were all found to be normal, indicating that Hong Kong is not contaminated as a result of the Fukushima accident.
Ends/Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Issued at HKT 19:15
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