skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Dose and risk assessment for intrusion into mixed waste disposal sites

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5884262

Sites previously used for disposal of radioactive and hazardous chemical materials have resulted in situations that pose a potential threat to humans from inadvertent intrusion. An example generic scenario analysis was developed to demonstrate the evaluation of potential exposure to either cleanup workers or members of the public who intrude into buried waste containing both radioactive and hazardous chemical contaminants. The example scenarios consist of a collection of exposure routes (or pathways) with specific modeling assumptions for well-drilling and for excavation to construct buildings. These scenarios are used to describe conceptually some potential patterns of activity by non-protected human beings during intrusion into mixed-waste disposal sites. The dose from exposure to radioactive materials is calculated using the GENII software system and converted to risk by using factors from ICRP Publication 60. The hazard assessment for nonradioactive materials is performed using recent guidelines from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The example results are in the form of cancer risk for carcinogens and radiation exposure.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC06-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
5884262
Report Number(s):
PNL-SA-20032; CONF-911043-3; ON: DE92004503; TRN: 92-035388
Resource Relation:
Conference: 30. Hanford symposium on health and the environment: current topics in occupational health, Richland, WA (United States), 29 Oct - 1 Nov 1991
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English