Cleanup Standards
Clean up standards for the ETEC Closure program are established by the applicable regulations and regulatory agencies. There are cleanup standards for chemical constituents and radiological constituents. In locations where both radiological and chemical impacts are found, both cleanup standards apply. These standards ensure that any future user of a facility or site will not be exposed to radionuclides or chemicals that result in unacceptable health risk.
Chemical
The DOE has assumed responsibility for several locations within Area IV which are impacted with chemical constituents. As part of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory RCRA Corrective Action program, there is a methodology approved by DTSC to determine site-specific cleanup levels for chemical constituents. The Standardized Risk Assessment Methodology (SRAM) uses health-based risk criteria for determining cleanup levels for specific chemicals at specific locations.
Radiological
Radiation cleanup standards can be expressed in terms of acceptable radiation exposure levels or acceptable health risk levels. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), other DOE sites, and State radiological regulatory agencies utilize exposure levels as their standards. The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) utilized health risk levels as acceptable standards for CERCLA cleanups.
Prior cleanups at ETEC have used exposure level as a cleanup standard. The remaining facility cleanup will use health risk as the cleanup standard. Both approaches ensure the facility and/or site will be fully protective of public health and the environment.
- Radiation Cleanup Standards provides information on how various agencies utilize standards in radiological remediation.
- Radiation Risk provides the framework of the theoretical linear no threshold (LNT) model of radiation induced cancer risk.
