Cleanup standards and pathways analysis methods
Remediation of a radioactively contaminated site requires that certain regulatory criteria be met before the site can be released for unrestricted future use. Since the ultimate objective of remediation is to protect the public health and safety, residual radioactivity levels remaining at a site after cleanup must be below certain preset limits or meet acceptable dose or risk criteria. Release of a decontaminated site requires proof that the radiological data obtained from the site meet the regulatory criteria for such a release. Typically release criteria consist of a composite of acceptance limits that depend on the radionuclides, the media in which they are present, and federal and local regulations. In recent years, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has developed a pathways analysis model to determine site-specific soil activity concentration guidelines for radionuclides that do not have established generic acceptance limits. The DOE pathways analysis computer code (developed by Argonne National Laboratory for the DOE) is called RESRAD (Gilbert et al. 1989). Similar efforts have been initiated by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to develop and use dose-related criteria based on genetic pathways analyses rather than simplistic numerical limits on residual radioactivity. The focus of this paper is radionuclide contaminated soil. Cleanup standards are reviewed, pathways analysis methods are described, and an example is presented in which RESRAD was used to derive cleanup guidelines.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 10183017
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/CMT/CP--79432; CONF-930906--12; ON: DE93040246
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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