Wadsworth Center’s Nuclear Chemistry Laboratory operates within the Laboratory of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry, Division of Environmental Health Sciences. The Nuclear Chemistry Laboratory cooperates with other New York State agencies such as the Bureau of Environmental Radiation Protection, Bureau of Water Supply Protection, as well as with the US Food and Drug Administration for radiological food protection.
Mandated Radiological Surveillance in New York State
The surveillance program assesses exposure of the population to ionizing radiation and involves monitoring of radioactivity in the environment around nuclear power plants, waste sites, as well as monitoring of drinking water supplies for gross alpha/beta, radium, and uranium.
Emergency Response
Radiological emergency response focuses on response to accidents and incidents involving ionizing radiation related to commercial and healthcare usage of radiation, radiological food protection, potential large accidents related to energy production, as well as potential terrorist threats involving radioactivity such as dirty bombs.
Research in Radiological Sciences
- Develop improved and faster laboratory methods of quantifying radioactivity to serve the above-mentioned programs.
- Develop statistical and modeling tools to quantify radioactivity in the environment and improve the decision methodology.
- Develop new and more sensitive methods to detect ionizing radiation in environmental, food, and bioassay samples, such as alpha and gamma spectrometry, liquid scintillation counting, and radon detection.
- Develop new methods to separate specific radionuclides from complex matrices.
Education
The Nuclear Chemistry Laboratory teaches principles and laboratory courses in radiation sciences for the University at Albany, College of Integrated Health Sciences, Department of Environmental Health Sciences Program by providing:
EHS 690 Laboratory Rotations
EHS 540 Principles of Radiation Sciences
EHS 541 Radioactivity Measurements Laboratory
Accreditations
- NELAP – E37911
- NYS ELAP – 10762
- EPA – NY00005
Radon
Information including frequently asked questions, testing, mitigation, laws and regulations and radon level maps and statistics can be found at the NYS Department of Health's Radon Page.
Additional information about the Nuclear Chemistry Laboratory.