Environmental sampling and analysis
To complement continuous monitoring, more than 400 samples are taken each year on and around CERN sites to assess the Laboratory's impact on the environment. Aerosol and water samples are collected for radiological analysis, and water samples from effluents and receiving watercourses near CERN sites are also taken for physicochemical analysis.
Air monitoring
A representative fraction of the aerosols emitted by the ventilation stacks of the accelerators and experiments are continuously collected on filters by sampling stations for analysis in the low-level radiological measurement laboratory (alpha/beta counting and gamma spectrometry). At the same time, analysis of filters from ambient (atmospheric) aerosol sampling devices located on or near CERN sites demonstrates that emissions remain negligible. Some ventilation discharge monitoring stations are equipped with activated carbon cartridges for laboratory analysis of volatile elements such as iodine (gamma spectrometry). Some stations are also equipped with tritium capture systems for laboratory analysis (liquid scintillation counting).
Effluent water & receiving watercourses
Radiological analyses (alpha/beta counting, gamma spectrometry, and liquid scintillation tritium counting) are performed monthly on representative water samples collected using CERN's water monitoring stations. Physicochemical analyses are performed monthly (grab and 24-hour sampling) on CERN's main effluents discharged into watercourses. Once a year, samples are also taken from watercourses receiving CERN effluents for radiological and physicochemical analyses to assess CERN's impact.
For certain types of effluents, CERN departments ensure that the HSE-ENV unit has granted the necessary authorisation to discharge a specific volume of water. For any water discharge, a TREC request must be submitted.
Laboratory equipment
Radiological and physicochemical analyses are performed in the HSE Unit's laboratories. The radiological analyses performed in the laboratory include gamma, alpha, and beta activity measurements, and tritium measurements.
The laboratory includes the following equipment:
- 6 gamma spectrometry measurement systems;
- 2 alpha/beta measurement counters;
- 2 liquid scintillation counters used for tritium analysis.
- Physicochemical analyses cover water quality parameters, in accordance with the authorities, such as metals, organic carbon and total nitrogen, organohalogens, and anions.
The laboratory includes the following equipment:
- Portable instruments: pH meters, conductivity meters, temperature meters, and dissolved oxygen meters
- Turbidimeter
- 1 UV/visible spectrophotometer
- 1 ion chromatograph for cation and anion analysis
- 1 total organic carbon and total organic nitrogen analyzer 1 adsorbable organic halogen (AOX) analyzer
- 1 FT-IR spectrometer
- 1 ICP-MS
- 1 HPLC MS-MS
For any questions, please address them to environment.info@cern.ch
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Effluent water samples for physicochemical analysis. (Image: CERN) |