The J.Stefan Institute home page is located at http://ijs.muzej.si/

Ecological Laboratory with a Mobile Unit - ELMU

AIMS

Ecological Laboratory with a Mobile Unit (ELMU) was established between 1980 and 1982 as an UNDP project. Its prime aims are:

detection and determination of accidental pollution of the environment with radioactive substances and specific chemical and biological pollutants
expert recommendations to those authorities and organizations responsible for implementation of protective measures
education in environment protection

Slovenia has Civil Protection Organization (CPO) for coping with emergencies. The Civil Protection Headquarters at national level established highly professional emergency units (teams) in different fields of emergency response (RCPHQ specialized units) and ELMU is recognized as one of them.

ELMU, multi-disciplinary in its character, is a cooperative project between several departments at the J. Stefan Institute and other institutions in Slovenia engaged in environmental measurements and protection.

ELMU in Emergencies

Standby:
the work is organized in such a way as to allow immediate mobilization of teams and facilities. Duty Emergency Director and one chemical team are 24 hours per day on standby (Duty Emergency Director and duty team are on call through pager system). The Emergency Control Centre is at J. Stefan Institute.

Accidents with Hazardous Substances:
in accidents involving hazardous substances, the Mobile Unit can be sent to the location in question to do analyses, to collect samples and to dispatch them to the laboratories, where they can be analysed further. The ELMUs' experts recommend appropriate steps to authorities responsible for implementation of protective measures to minimize consequences.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Stationary Laboratories

Radioactivity:: gamma and alpha spectrometry, beta measurements, radiochemical analyses, dosimetry
Chemistry:: neutron activation analysis, gas and liquid chromatography, mass and atomic absorption spectrometry, spectrophotometry and classical analysis
Biology:: laboratories in special health institutions

Portable Equipment

Radiological monitoring equipment: 2 Ge detectors, NaI spectrometer, ionization chamber connected to GPS and notebook, meteorological station, survey metres, PC computers
Portable chemical laboratory
Sampling equipment
Personal protective equipment
Accessories
Supporting procedures and documents
Communication equipment

Transport

The Mobile Unit has four vehicles: two field cars used mainly for survey and sampling, Mobile Radiological Laboratory and Mobile Chemical Laboratory which are specially equipped for field work.

Training and drills

Training and drills of monitoring teams are carried out on a regular basis. The drills are carried out as a part of a regular monitoring programme and emergency preparedness in the country. They are arranged three times per year. They are used to test the adequacy of the response plan, procedures and equipment in field conditions and communications. Critiques are valuable as a means of improving plans, procedures and coordinated work.

ELMU - Experience in last 10 years

Active participation in routine national programme for control of environmental pollution in Slovenia
Environmental radiation monitoring of NPP Krsko
Participation in international intercomparison measurements
More than 20 interventions per year on average due to chemical pollution of the environment
Sampling, measurements of radioactivity and dose assessment for Slovenia after the Chernobyl accident

Mobile Radiological Laboratory is the best equipped laboratory in Slovenia for interventions in case of nuclear or radiological accident.

Members

DEPUTY HEADS:

Bogdan PUCELJ, M.Sc. - radioactivity
Dr. Hermina LESKOVSEK - chemistry
Prof.Dr. Franc GUBENSEK - biology

CHEMICAL TEAMS:
Dr. Mladen FRANKO
Dusan KONDA
Dr. Dusan ZIGON
Stojan ZIGON
Dr. Bogdan KRALJ
Silva PERKO
Bojan MITROVIC, B.Sc.
Joze NOVAK

RADIOLOGICAL TEAMS:
Prof. Dr. Andrej LIKAR
Matej LIPOGLAVSEK, M.SC.
Peter JOVANOVIC, B.SC.
Joze NOVAK
Branko VODENIK, M.Sc.
Tim VIDMAR, B.SC.
Zdravko KREFT
Marjan RAVNIKAR
Dr. Matjaz KORUN
Borut KUHAR, B.Sc.
Darko KAVSEK
Marko ROSMAN

D. Glavic-Cindro
Last update October 17, 1995