Radiological Evaluation of Contaminated Sites and Soils: VEgAS—An Expertise and Investigation Vehicle

Abstract

The “Commissariat a` l’Energie Atomique” (CEA, French Atomic Energy Commission) has set up over the last 10 years an innovative methodology aiming at characterizing radiological contaminations. The application of the latter relies on various tools such as recently developed software platform called Kartotrak which is used in the expertise vehicles with impressive detection performances (VEgAS). A Geographic Information System tailored to radiological needs constitutes the heart of the platform; it is surrounded by several modules dedicated to sampling optimization, data analysis and geostatistical modeling, real-time monitoring (Kartotrak-RT) and validation of proper clean-up operations. This paper presents the purpose and the performances of the VEgAS which provides exhaustive instruments for the radiological surface characterization of sites.