1,2,- 1University of Ferrara, Physics, Italy (lkenmr@unife.it)
- 2INFN Ferrara Section, Italy
- 3INFN Milano Section, Italy
- 4INFN, Milano – Bicocca Section, Italy
- *A full list of authors appears at the end of the abstract
The EyeRAD project establishes a national network across eight sections of the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) (Milano, Milano-Bicocca, Ferrara, Bari, Napoli, LNF-Frascati, LNGS-Assergi, and LNS–Catania) for the monitoring of atmospheric radioactivity. A key challenge of the network lies in the heterogeneity of the detection systems employed, which range from high-resolution HPGe spectrometers to scintillation detectors like NaI(Tl) and CeBr3 used for early warning. To ensure comparable analytical sensitivity and rapid response despite this instrumental diversity, a harmonized measurement protocol has been developed and validated.
All laboratories operate identical high-volume air samplers with a nominal flow rate of 1000 L·min⁻¹, collecting atmospheric particulate matter on glass fiber filters corresponding to a sampled volume of approximately 1.4x103 m³ per 23-hour session. The measurement strategy adopts a sequential counting approach performed at fixed intervals (typically 2, 5, 24, 48, and 72 hours) after sampling. This schedule is physically motivated by the decay kinetics of short-lived radon progeny specifically 214Pb and 214Bi from the 222Rn chain, and 212Pb and 208Tl from the 220Rn chain which dominate the gamma background in the initial hours. The progressive decay of these natural contributions significantly enhances the detectability of longer-lived radionuclides.
The protocol includes the monitoring of 210Pb as a tracer for natural background stability and aerosol load, and cosmogenic 7Be as an independent quality indicator, with measured concentrations consistently falling within the expected 2-8mBqm-3 range. In terms of sensitivity, the protocol achieves Minimum Detectable Activities (MDAs) for anthropogenic radionuclides 131I and 137Cs in the order of 1-3x10-5 Bqm-3, and approximately 10-2 Bqm-3 for 210Pb (based on 24-hour live time measurements with HPGe detectors). Finally, to ensure accessibility and transparency, all results and metadata are centrally collected and published via a public web application (https://www.eyerad-infn.it/).
Mohamed Abdelkader (a), Matteo Albéri (a,b), Roberto Bedogni (c), Abner Ivan Castro-Campoy(c), Roberto Cerroni (d), Michele Colucci (e), Michele Di Giovanni (f), Engin Can Esen (a), L. Russo(c,g), F. L. Frigi (c,g), Chiara Ghiano (d), Ghulam Hasnain (a,b,h), Chiara Imparato(f), Matthias Laubenstein (d), Simone Manenti (e), Fabio Mantovani (a,b), Lorenzo Magaletti (i), Cristian Massimi(j) Eugenio Nappi (i), Finocchiaro Paolo (k), Massimiliano Nastasi (l), Vincenzo Paticchio (i), and Kassandra Giulia Cristina Raptis (a,b) Leanza Renata (k), Rapisarda Giuseppe Gabriele (k,m) , Carlo Sabbarese (f) and Romano Stefano (k,m) a Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy. b INFN, Ferrara Section, Ferrara, Italy. c INFN, Frascati National Laboratories (LNF), Frascati, Italy d INFN, Gran Sasso National Laboratories (LNGS), L'Aquila, Italy e INFN, Milano Section f INFN, Napoli Section g ICTP International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Strada Costiera, Trieste, Italy h INFN, Ferrara Section, Ferrara, Italy.cUniversity of Trento, Trento, Italy i INFN, Bari Section, Bari, Italy j Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy k INFN, Southern National Laboratories (LNS), Catania, Italy l INFN, Milan Bicocca Section m Department of Physics and Astronomy “Ettore Majorana,” University of Catania, Catania, Italy
How to cite: Elek, N. I., Groppi, F., and Sisti, M. and the EyeRAD Collaboration: EyeRAD: an INFN network for airborne radioactivity monitoring, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-18729, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-18729, 2026.
