Mission: Provide specialized technical advice, radiation monitoring and evaluation for releases and sites.
~27 person forward team (All Feds/No Contractor Support)
- With locations in Washington DC, Las Vegas, NV, and Montgomery, AL, EPA’s RERT provides specialized technical advice, assistance, and specialized radiation detection equipment for radiological incidents.
Specializing in:
- Sampling/Monitoring
- Hazard Evaluation
- Planning
- Decontamination
- Risk Assessment
- Lab Analysis
- Characterization
- Cleanup
- Waste Disposal
Key assets include RadNet System, Mobile Environmental Response Laboratory (MERL), Scanner Vans, and deployables.
Radiological laboratories: RERT has both a fixed and mobile laboratory. The fixed laboratory – the National Analytical Radiation Environmental Laboratory (NAREL) -- is located in Montgomery, AL, and is capable of complex analyses to identify specific radioisotopes in a variety of environmental media. The mobile lab -- called the Mobile Environmental Radiation Laboratory (MERL) -- can be used to conduct field assessments of low-level contamination from environmental samples. RERT’s MERL can be driven to any site in the continental U.S., and can deploy 24-48 hours from receiving a request for assistance.
RadNet: The nationwide system monitors the nation’s air, precipitation, and drinking water to track radiation in the environment. Over time, RadNet sample testing and monitoring results show the normal background levels of environmental radiation. The system will also detect higher than normal radiation levels during a radiological incident. RadNet has tracked radiation from atmospheric nuclear weapons tests and nuclear accidents at Chernobyl, Ukraine, and Fukushima, Japan. RadNet has more than 130 stationary (fixed) radiation air monitors in 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington DC. Another 40 portable (deployable) air monitors can be sent anywhere in the U.S. if needed. RadNet runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and sends near-real-time measurements of beta and gamma radiation to EPA’s NAREL in Montgomery.
