United States Office of Radiation and Indoor Air EPA 402-R-12-005 Environmental Protection National Air and Radiation August 2012 Agency Environmental Laboratory www.epa.gov/narel Disclaimer - For assistance accessing this document or additional information, please contact [email protected]. Guide for Radiological Laboratories for the Control of Radioactive Contamination and Radiation Exposure EPA 402-R-12-005 www.epa.gov/narel August 2012 Revision 0 Guide for Radiological Laboratories for the Control of Radioactive Contamination and Radiation Exposure U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Air and Radiation Office of Radiation and Indoor Air National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory Montgomery, AL 36115 Guide for Radiological Laboratories for the Control of Radioactive Contamination and Radiation Exposure This report was prepared for the National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory of the Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, United States Environmental Protection Agency. It was prepared by Environmental Management Support, Inc., of Silver Spring, Maryland, under contracts 68-W-03-038, work assignment 35, and EP-07-037, work assignments B-33 and I-33, all managed by David Garman. Mention of trade names or specific applications does not imply endorsement or acceptance by EPA. Guide for Radiological Laboratories for the Control of Radioactive Contamination and Radiation Exposure PREFACE The need to ensure adequate laboratory infrastructure to support response and recovery actions following a major radiological or nuclear incident has been recognized by a number of federal agencies. The Integrated Consortium of Laboratory Networks (ICLN), created in 2005 by 10 federal agencies,1 consists of existing laboratory networks across the Federal Government. The ICLN is designed to provide a national infrastructure with a coordinated and operational system of laboratory networks that provide timely, high quality, and interpretable results for early detection and effective consequence management of acts of terrorism and other events requiring an integrated laboratory response. It also designates responsible federal agencies (RFAs) to provide laboratory support across response phases for chemical, biological, and radiological agents. To meet its RFA responsibilities, EPA has established the Environmental Response Laboratory Network (ERLN) to address chemical, biological, and radiological threats during nationally significant incidents (www.epa.gov/erln/). EPA is the RFA for monitoring, surveillance, and remediation of radiological agents. EPA will share responsibility for overall incident response with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This document is one of several initiatives by EPA’s Office of Radiation and Indoor Air designed to provide guidance to radiological laboratories that will support EPA’s response and recovery actions following a radiological or nuclear incident, such as the detonation of an improvised nuclear device (IND) or a radiological dispersal device (RDD) (“dirty bomb”). During the response to such an incident, a radiological laboratory may need to process much greater numbers of samples, some of which are likely to have higher levels of radioactivity than the laboratory is accustomed to handling. This guide describes the likely radioactive contamination control and challenges that would face personnel at the laboratory following such an incident, and offers suggestions for preparing for these challenges. Advance planning by the laboratory to control radioactive contamination and radiation will be critical to ensure the rapid delivery of radioanalytical results that meet the required data quality objectives associated with the protection of human health and the environment. This guide identifies key topics for consideration by the laboratory and presents various suggestions on which the laboratory may base its decisions regarding the establishment of operational protocols. Specifically, the guide discusses the need to prepare the laboratory to participate in the incident response by defining and establishing discreet work areas and operational guidelines for the various laboratory activities, based primarily on the levels of radioactivity being processed and the flow of radioactive material through the laboratory, and by establishing customized laboratory-specific protocols for the key activities that are likely to have a significant impact on contamination and radiation control. As with any technical endeavor, the establishment of effective contamination and radiation control for radiological or nuclear incident response in a radiological laboratory will require each laboratory to develop practices and protocols that address the unique needs of its facility. This guide provides examples of practices and descriptions of work areas that are intended to serve as 1 Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Justice, and State, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. i Guide for Radiological Laboratories for the Control of Radioactive Contamination and Radiation Exposure a starting point for the laboratory to consider in the development of its own solutions to the issues presented. The guide does not address a complete catalog of control methodologies or potential situations. This document2 is one in a planned series designed to present radioanalytical laboratory personnel, Incident Commanders (and their designees), and other field response personnel with key laboratory operational considerations and likely radioanalytical requirements, decision paths, and default data quality and measurement quality objectives for analysis of samples taken after a radiological or nuclear incident, including incidents caused by a terrorist attack. Documents currently completed or in preparation include: • Radiological Laboratory Sample Analysis Guide for Incidents of National Significance – Radionuclides in Water (EPA 402-R-07-007, January 2008) • Radiological Laboratory Sample Analysis Guide for Incidents of National Significance – Radionuclides in Air (EPA 402-R-09-007, June 2009) • Radiological Laboratory Sample Screening Analysis Guide for Incidents of National Significance (EPA 402-R-09-008, June 2009) • Method Validation Guide for Qualifying Methods Used by Radiological Laboratories Participating in Incident Response Activities (EPA 402-R-09-006, June 2009) • Guide for Laboratories – Identification, Preparation, and Implementation of Core Operations for Radiological or Nuclear Incident Response (EPA 402-R-10-002, June 2010) • A Performance-Based Approach to the Use of Swipe Samples in Response to a Radiological or Nuclear Incident (EPA 600-R-11-122, October 2011) • Uses of Field and Laboratory Measurements During a Radiological or Nuclear Incident (EPA 402-R-12-007, August 2012) • Radiological Laboratory Sample Analysis Guide for Radiological or Nuclear Incidents – Radionuclides in Soil (EPA 402-R-12-006, September 2012) Comments on this document, or suggestions for future editions, should be addressed to: Dr. John Griggs U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Radiation and Indoor Air National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory 540 South Morris Avenue Montgomery, AL 36115-2601 (334) 270-3450 [email protected] 2 All the documents in this series are available at www.epa.gov/erln/radiation.html and at www.epa.gov/narel/incident_guides.html. ii Guide for Radiological Laboratories for the Control of Radioactive Contamination and Radiation Exposure ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This guide was developed by the National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory (NAREL) of EPA’s Office of Radiation and Indoor Air (ORIA). Dr. John Griggs was the project lead for this document. Several individuals provided valuable support and input to this document throughout its development. Special acknowledgment and appreciation are extended to Dr. Keith McCroan, ORIA/NAREL; Dr. Lowell Ralston and Mr. Edward Tupin, CHP, both of ORIA/ Radiation Protection Division; and Mr. David Garman, ORIA/NAREL. We also wish to acknowledge the external peer reviews conducted by Ms. Dawn Cermak, Dr. J. Stanley Morton, Mr. Sherrod L. Maxwell, Dr. Shiyamalie Ruberu, and Ms. Carolyn Wong, whose thoughtful comments contributed greatly to the understanding and quality of the report. Numerous other individuals inside EPA provided internal peer reviews of this document, and their suggestions contributed greatly to the quality and consistency of the final document. Technical support was provided by Mr. David Burns, Dr. N. Jay Bassin, Dr. Anna Berne, Dr. Carl V. Gogolak, Dr. Robert Litman, Dr. David McCurdy, and Mr. Robert Shannon of Environmental Management Support, Inc. DEDICATION This report is dedicated to the memory of our friend and colleague, David Garman. Dave administered nearly three dozen separate contracted radiochemistry projects for EPA dating back nearly 17 years, beginning with the Multi-Agency Radiological Laboratory Analytical Protocols (MARLAP) in 1994. Dave put up with countless changes of prime contractors, priorities, subcontractors, and budgets, all with good cheer, diligence, and all while keeping up with his “day job” as counting room lead for alpha-spectrometry analysis at NAREL. Dave started with EPA’s National Air and Radiation Laboratory in 1992. He left many friends throughout EPA and the radioanalytical community, and he will be greatly missed. iii Guide for Radiological Laboratories for the Control of Radioactive Contamination