MULTISENSOR SURVEYS OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES 
Michael Howard, Larry Tinney, Steve Riedhauser 
US Department of Energy Remote Sensing Laboratory, operated by Bechtel Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 
Charles Nalezny 
US Department of Energy, Office of Technology Development, Environmental Restoration and Waste Management, 
Washington, D.C., USA 
KEY WORDS: Remote Sensing, Radiation, Multispectral, Aerial Photography, Data Integration 
ABSTRACT: Numerous tools are used by the United States Department of Energy Remote Sensing Laboratory to collect 
and analyze data from multisensor surveys. A survey of the Paldiski Naval Reactor Training Site in Estonia provides an 
example of the use of such tools. Multisensor survey operations included aerial and ground-based radiation surveys, 
daytime and predawn multispectral scanner surveys, and low and high altitude aerial photography. 
Complete environmental characterization will be accomplished by integrating the results of aerial and ground-based 
radiological surveys, a multispectral scanner survey, and the aerial photography. The analysis of the radiation survey uses 
isoradiation contour maps which indicate the distribution of man-made radiation over the Paldiski Naval Reactor Training 
Site and surrounding area. Preliminary multispectral analysis indicates vegetation anomalies and movement of a diesel fud 
spill. Aerial photography is used for both photographic interpretation and base maps for radiological data. Integration of 
these data are used for a variety of applications involved in comprehensive environmental site characterization. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
The United States Department of Energy (USDOE) maintains 
a Remote Sensing Laboratory (RSL) to support nuclear 
related programs. The mission of the RSL organization 
includes both emergency response for nuclear incidents and 
routine environmental assessments of nuclear related 
facilities. This paper provides an overview of the unique 
collection of equipment used by RSL for multisensor surveys 
of nuclear facilities. Preliminary results are reviewed for a 
recent multisensor survey of the Pakri Peninsula, located 
near Tallinn, Estonia. The area surveyed includes the former 
Paldiski Naval Reactor Training Site. 
2. RSL BACKGROUND 
The USDOE RSL, located in Las Vegas, Nevada, was initially 
established in 1960 to support the monitoring of nuclear 
weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site. Over the years, the 
RSL has developed considerable practical experience in 
applying airborne remote sensing technology for 
environmental characterization and oversight at other nuclear 
related facilities across the United States and abroad. 
Today, the primary mission of the RSL organization is to 
provide emergency response support to nuclear related 
incidents. Potential accident response scenarios include 
airborne plume tracking, intensity and spectral mapping of 
radionuclide depositions, and finding lost sources or their 
components. To maintain technical and operational 
proficiency the RSL also conducts more routine 
environmental surveys. These surveys provide RSL staff with 
field experience and opportunities to evaluate the use of 
different sensor systems under a variety of environmental 
conditions. 
RSL currently maintains a small fleet of specially equipped 
aircraft that are used as platforms for remote sensor systems. 
The aircraft include helicopters, light aircraft, and a business 
jet suitable for high altitude acquisitions. The remote sensing 
systems used by RSL detect in the gamma, visible, and 
infrared spectral regions. The systems include various types 
of gamma radiation detectors, mapping quality aerial 
cameras, video cameras, thermal imagers, multispectral 
scanners and, hyperspectral scanners. In addition to airborne 
sampling and mapping systems, various in situ equipment 
are used for ground measurements. 
3. MISSION OVERVIEW 
3.1 Objectives 
The RSL multisensor survey of the Pakri Peninsula was 
undertaken as part of the US-Estonian cooperation 
announced by President Clinton during his visit to the Baltic 
in July, 1994. A USDOE-Estonian Ministry of Economy 
Agreement for Technical Cooperation was signed by Vice 
President Gore during his visit to Tallinn, Estonia, in March, 
1995. This agreement outlined the nature of the multisensor 
survey and related technical cooperation. 
The mission objective was to provide a comprehensive site 
characterization using RSL's integrated suite of remote 
sensing tools. To achieve this, the following goals were set: 
1) conduct an aerial radiation survey, 2) collect ground- 
based gamma spectroscopy for any man-made radiation 
anomalies detected by the aerial survey, 3) collect sitewide 
aerial photography, and 4) conduct a daytime multispectral 
scanner and predawn thermal survey of the site. 
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International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXI, Part B7. Vienna 1996 
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