Issues in the Design of MARSSIM Surveys for Materials and Equipment

Authors

C. V. Gogolak, R. A. Meck, G. Powers, A. Williams, D. Alberth, R. Bhat, C. Bias, S. Doremus, K. Snead, C. Petullo

Abstract

MARSSIM (NUREG-1575) addresses the conduct of final status surveys for residual radioactivity in surface soil and building surfaces. The draft technical report NUREG-1761, "Radiological Surveys for Controlling Release of Solid Materials," was the first attempt to extend this guidance to include materials and equipment. From this starting point, the MARSSIM workgroup is developing a MARSSIM supplement called MARSAME, "Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Assessment of Materials and Equipment." The purpose of MARSAME is to provide multi-agency guidance, based on the Data Quality Objectives (DQOs) process, for the design and implementation of surveys to determine whether there is a need to initiate or continue radiological controls on specific materials and equipment. Survey results must be able to demonstrate that appropriate disposition criteria have been met within predetermined confidence limits. A graded approach to classifying materials and equipment as candidates for disposition surveys can be simple or complex, because of the very large variety of forms and kinds of materials and equipment that could potentially be involved. The intrinsic value of the materials and equipment and the costs of disposal have roles in these processes. Additional complexity is introduced when surfaces are difficult to access for measurement and radionuclides are distributed throughout a volume of materials or equipment. The appropriate size of survey units for materials and equipment may be more difficult to establish. Equipment may be as small as a single hammer or as large as a piece of earth-moving equipment. Various alternatives for survey design that address these issues are possible depending on the specific material and radionuclides involved. In particular, new perspectives on scanning and in toto measurements are important in addressing material disposition options.

Meeting

This abstract was presented at the 38th Annual Midyear Meeting, "Materials Control and Security: Risk Assessment, Handling, and Detection", Advances in Instrumentation, Materials Detection and Measurement Session, 2/13/2005 - 2/16/2005, held in New Orleans, LA.

 
Index of Midyear Meeting Abstracts