Recommended screening limits for contaminated surface soil and review of factors relevant to site-specific studies
Surface soil can become contaminated with radionuclides through many different mechanisms such as airborne deposition, spills and leaching from contaminated material stored above ground. Current activities associated with the cleanup of contaminated weapons production and storage facilities and the future decommissioning of nuclear facilities might result in additional soil contamination as well as in the discovery of past contamination. Even after cleanup of known contaminated land, some residual contamination will remain. No matter how the contamination occurred, the issue becomes whether the level is sufficiently high, high before or after cleanup, to warrant action or restriction on the use of the contaminated site. The primary purpose of this Report is to provide screening limits (in Bq/kg) which can be applied to sites where the surface soil is determined to be contaminated with one or more radionuclides. These screening limits, which can be defined as a conservative method of relating an effective dose (E) limit for a critical group to a corresponding soil contamination level (EPA, 1990a), can be used to allow reasonable judgments to be made regarding the need for possible (further) action based on present soil radionuclide levels. If the surface soil concentration is below the suggested limits, then no further action will generally be required. If the concentration is above the suggested limit, a site-specific dose assessment should be conducted. To justify the guidance provided, this Report reviews in some detail the scientific basis for estimating both site-specific and generic doses to individuals from all pathways that could result from direct or indirect exposure to the contaminated soil. This review includes discussions of the uncertainty and variability in all the important parameters included in the calculational models. The Report also provides guidance on how to determine the site average radionuclide concentration in surface soil to be used for applying these generic screening criteria. Factors important in site-specific studies are cited in many of the cases discussed.
- Research Organization:
- National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Bethesda, MD (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 351235
- Report Number(s):
- NCRP-129; ISBN 0-929600-61-4; TRN: AHC29921%%32
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 29 Jan 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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