Radiation Environment Monitoring Technical Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment Visits Tibet to Conduct Research and Assistance on Radiation Environment Monitoring Capacity

Recently, in accordance with the work deployment of the Nuclear Facility Safety Supervision Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), a team led by relevant officials from the Radiation Environment Monitoring Technical Center of the MEE visited the Radiation Environment Supervision Station of the Tibet Autonomous Region (hereinafter referred to as the Tibet Station) to conduct research, assistance, and technical guidance on radiation environment monitoring capacity.

The working group was dispatched in batches to key cities including Lhasa, Nagqu, Shigatse, and Ngari, and systematically reviewed the current status of radiation monitoring capacity in the Tibet Autonomous Region through thematic seminars, on-site inspections, and hands-on training sessions. They conducted on-site assessments of the operation and maintenance challenges of the national-controlled radiation environment air automatic monitoring stations in Tibet, benchmarked against actual needs, identified shortcomings in capacity building, and implemented targeted measures to resolve bottlenecks in network operation.

At the research symposium, the Tibet Station and relevant municipal ecological environment departments provided comprehensive briefings on the current status of radiation regulatory and monitoring capacity, the delegation of regulatory and monitoring authority to lower levels, the operation and maintenance management of automatic monitoring stations, and the progress of border radiation monitoring system development. They highlighted prominent shortcomings including insufficient monitoring capacity at the autonomous region level, high failure rates of automatic station equipment due to aging under the special geographical conditions of the plateau, high operation and maintenance costs, and weak grassroots monitoring technical capabilities. The Radiation Environment Monitoring Technical Center of the MEE responded to each issue based on the capacity building needs for provincial-level radiation monitoring during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period and its experience in managing national-controlled automatic station operations, proposing targeted solutions such as strengthening radiation monitoring equipment allocation in line with monitoring needs, conducting baseline surveys of radiation levels in key regions, advancing border early warning capacity building to improve the region-wide radiation monitoring network, establishing spare parts warehouses and adopting solar power supply to enhance automatic station operation and maintenance response efficiency, and promoting remote operation and maintenance modules to reduce labor costs.

Both sides conducted in-depth discussions on several key matters: First, carrying out radiation environment monitoring capacity assessments, evaluating the compliance rate of the Tibet Station’s radiation monitoring capacity item by item against the “Radiation Environment Monitoring Capacity Assessment Plan (Interim)” and the “Requirements for Provincial Radiation Environment Monitoring Capacity Building during the 15th Five-Year Plan Period” (Annex to Document No. 21 of 2026 issued by the Nuclear Facility Safety Supervision Department); Second, consulting on cooperation for improving radiation monitoring capacity, including orderly advancing sample analysis for the national-controlled network and radioactivity level surveys of drinking water sources, while planning future cooperation directions around radiation environment level surveys and electromagnetic radiation level surveys in key regions; Third, exchanging views on collaborative research project pathways, focusing on joint research topics in areas such as high-altitude radiation monitoring and characteristic radionuclide monitoring. Both sides also conducted in-depth exchanges on matters including monitoring equipment data comparison and advancing the construction of radiation monitoring background stations, reaching broad consensus on cooperation.

After the meeting, the working group conducted “diagnosis-style” on-site operation and maintenance inspections at key stations with frequent failures, adhering to the principle of resolving simple issues on the spot and implementing closed-loop solutions for complex problems, systematically working toward zero outstanding issues. For the data packet loss problem of the high-pressure ionization chamber at the Lhasa automatic station, the working group completed the update of the data acquisition software on site and promptly repaired the fault; for issues including UPS equipment failure and missing security facilities at the Ngari automatic station, and station building damage, leakage, and multiple types of sampling equipment failures at the Yadong automatic station in Shigatse, rectification plans were developed item by item by category, with clear disposal pathways including return-to-factory repair, on-site maintenance, and software upgrades. The working group also conducted hands-on training sessions simultaneously, explaining routine inspection procedures to frontline operation and maintenance personnel at the city level, sharing experience in handling typical faults at national automatic stations, and distributing operation and maintenance guidance manuals, effectively contributing to the capacity improvement of the autonomous region’s operation and maintenance teams.

Going forward, the Radiation Environment Monitoring Technical Center of the MEE will continue to employ the assistance model of “solving problems on site + establishing long-term mechanisms,” deepen counterpart assistance and project collaboration, continuously enhance Tibet’s radiation environment monitoring, early warning, and emergency response capabilities, and provide solid technical support for strengthening the national nuclear and radiation safety barrier.