AI exposure: Nuclear Monitoring Technicians
Collect and test samples to monitor results of nuclear experiments and contamination of humans, facilities, and environment.
Reading this score
computedAt 19.8% of weighted task load, Nuclear Monitoring Technicians sits at the 35th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 63.5% of what this role does is untouched, meaning current systems cannot produce that work at all, whatever the commercial incentive.
What holds the line here is embodiment. Across this occupation's 16 tasks it averages 2.00 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work has to happen in physical space. A language model cannot move matter. Until the robotics to do this work is both good enough and cheap enough to deploy widely, capability in software does not reach it.
The most exposed thing this job does is Analyze samples, at 73.3%. The least is Decontaminate objects by cleaning with soap or solvents or by abrading with wire brushes,..., at 0.0%. A gap of 73.3% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within life, physical and social science occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 36.3% across the group's 60 roles, with 54 scoring higher. Being in an exposed family does not make a particular job exposed, and the reverse holds too.
What would move this score. Of 16 tasks, 3 are currently banded exposed, 3 assisted and 10 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take robotics cheap and reliable enough to deploy at scale, not a better language model. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 1.47 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.00 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 1.03 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.22 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.47 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 2.00 | 0-3 |
Task by task
16 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analyze samples, such as air or water samples, for contaminants or other elements. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.31 | exposed |
| Prepare reports describing contamination tests, material or equipment decontaminated, or methods used in decontamination processes. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.98 | exposed |
| Enter data into computers to record characteristics of nuclear events or to locate coordinates of particles. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.13 | exposed |
| Brief workers on radiation levels in work areas. | 35.0% | 40.0% | 25.0% | 4.63 | assisted |
| Inform supervisors when individual exposures or area radiation levels approach maximum permissible limits. | 35.0% | 40.0% | 25.0% | 4.52 | assisted |
| Provide initial response to abnormal events or to alarms from radiation monitoring equipment. | 15.0% | 22.5% | 62.5% | 4.52 | untouched |
| Determine or recommend radioactive decontamination procedures, according to the size and nature of equipment and the degree of contamination. | 13.3% | 36.7% | 50.0% | 4.09 | assisted |
| Collect samples of air, water, gases, or solids to determine radioactivity levels of contamination. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.41 | untouched |
| Calibrate and maintain chemical instrumentation sensing elements and sampling system equipment, using calibration instruments and hand tools. | 10.8% | 14.2% | 75.0% | 4.04 | untouched |
| Instruct personnel in radiation safety procedures and demonstrate use of protective clothing and equipment. | 10.0% | 15.0% | 75.0% | 4.42 | untouched |
| Calculate safe radiation exposure times for personnel using plant contamination readings and prescribed safe levels of radiation. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.55 | untouched |
| Monitor personnel to determine the amounts and intensities of radiation exposure. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.54 | untouched |
| Determine intensities and types of radiation in work areas, equipment, or materials, using radiation detectors or other instruments. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.49 | untouched |
| Set up equipment that automatically detects area radiation deviations and test detection equipment to ensure its accuracy. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.07 | untouched |
| Place radioactive waste, such as sweepings or broken sample bottles, into containers for shipping or disposal. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.90 | untouched |
| Decontaminate objects by cleaning with soap or solvents or by abrading with wire brushes, buffing wheels, or sandblasting machines. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.85 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.
What this means in practice
Most of this work is not reachable by current systems, so the immediate pressure is on the administrative edges of the role rather than its core: the scheduling, the reporting, the written records. That is where time is recovered.