Challenges and Practical Solutions for Conducting Structural MARSSIM Surveys in Elevated Radon Environments - 20413
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District, Buffalo, NY (United States)
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental and Munitions Center of Expertise, Huntsville, AL (United States)
The Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM) [1] provides comprehensive guidance for the development and implementation of radiological surveys conducted to demonstrate compliance with a dose- or risk-based cleanup goal during final status survey. The MARSSIM methodology follows an integrated strategy combining direct measurements and sampling to assess uniform residual contamination, and scanning surveys to identify localized areas of elevated activity. Building surveys assessing residual surface contamination present unique challenges from reliance on field measurements that may be subject to less than ideal environmental conditions. Additionally, limited characterization and excessive conservatism incorporated into the conceptual site model may result in derived concentration guideline levels (DCGL) and, as a consequence of relatively inefficient field instrumentation, corresponding attributable count rates generally comparable to background. The presence of elevated ambient radon concentrations and associated progeny deposition both exacerbate these intrinsic survey challenges and introduce a series of technical, logistic, and administrative obstacles that can wreak havoc on the statistical legitimacy of each component of the MARSSIM process. Short-lived radon progeny including polonium-218, lead-214, bismuth-214, and polonium-214 produce excessive alpha and beta radiation that may decrease instrument sensitivity through an increase in background count rates, and, at worst, may result in incorrect survey unit failure through the simulation of residual surface activity. Aside from the obvious solution of exhaustive radon mitigation, the primary objectives are to distinguish between radon progeny deposition and actual surface activity, and collect sufficient defensible data. The following is a technical discussion of the consequences of performing building MARSSIM surveys in the presence of elevated ambient radon atmospheres, conceptual examples, and an overview of practical strategies to minimize the effects of radon interference while collecting sufficient defensible data to complete the survey. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 27646, 85285-7646 Tempe, AZ (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 23028023
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-21-WM-20413; TRN: US21V1859068375
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM2020: 46. Annual Waste Management Conference, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 8-12 Mar 2020; Other Information: Country of input: France; 4 refs.; available online at: https://www.xcdsystem.com/wmsym/2020/index.html
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Environmental Characterization Scans Using Sodium-Iodide Gamma Spectroscopy to Determine Ra-226 Concentration in Surface Soil - 16326
Incorporation of 40 CFR 192 as an ARAR when Implementing MARSSIM (USACE Input to the MARSSIM Committee for MARSSIM Revision 2) - 18526
Related Subjects
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
BISMUTH 214
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
COUNTING RATES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
IMPLEMENTATION
INTERFERENCE
LEAD 214
MITIGATION
POLONIUM 214
POLONIUM 218
PROGENY
RADON
SAMPLING
SENSITIVITY
SURFACE CONTAMINATION