EVALUATION OF U.S. RADIATION PROTECTION STANDARDS FOR RELEASE OF PROPERTIES CONTAINING RESIDUAL RADIONUCLIDES

摘要

The decades of nuclear weapons development in the United States have produced an unprecedented environmental legacy across the U. S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) multisite complex. Massive environmental cleanup efforts have been initiated since the Cold War ended in the late 1980s. These efforts have required decisions regarding disposition of several different types of properties. Similar activities have also been conducted or are anticipated for facilities associated with civilian nuclear research or commercial applications. In the United States, regulatory authority over the environmental control of radioactive materials is dispersed among DOE, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The regulatory mandates of these agencies are derived from various laws governing the protection of different aspects of the environment and human health. Because of this dispersed regulatory control, it is important to evaluate consistency in the radiation protection standards issued by these agencies as they pertain to activities associated with cleanup of various types of nuclear properties.