Decommissioning Health Physics

With the issuance of the Multiagency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM), many in the decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) field are finding it particularly important to understand the MARSSIM concepts. Here Eric Abelquist addresses this need by describing the practical issues essential for designing and interpreting MARSSIM surveys.This book presents many of the technicalities and challenges that arise during the planning and implementation of D&D projects. The focus is on the final status survey performed during the later stages of decommissioning projects, and provides greater technical detail than MARSSIM in areas of survey-design strategies. The book provides a detailed discussion of the underlying technical basis of the critical final status survey components, including survey-instrument selection, calculation of minimum detectable concentrations, dose modelling for calculating Derived Concentration Guideline Levels and area factors, and strategies for handling multiple radionuclides. Decommissioning concerns relevant to specific facility types - power reactors, uranium and thorium facilities / sites and university / research facilities are also examined.Practical applications of statistics in the context of decommissioning projects are thoroughly discussed, from elementary statistics to hypothesis testing for a number of applications, including data comparisons between the regulator and licensee, normality testing of the data and survey-unit compliance decisions.This book should be useful for those responsible for the planning and designing of final-status surveys, and reporting the final results. Health physics technicians will benefit from the practical chapters on instrumentation and survey procedures. Featuring a number of completely worked examples of final-status survey strategies, the book prepares the reader for the real-world application of MARSSIM at D&D projects.