The Multi-Agency Radiological Laboratory Analytical Protocols (MARLAP) Manual

摘要

Eight Federal agencies participated in the development of a Multi-Agency Radiological Laboratory Analytical Protocols (MARLAP) manual [1]. These agencies included: the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Food and Drug Administration. Representatives from the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the State of California also participated in MARLAP development. On December 27, 2004, the participating Federal agencies announced the availability of the MARLAP manual (FR Vol. 69, No. 247, 77228 - 77230), [2]. The MARLAP manual provides guidance for the planning, implementation, and assessment phases of projects that require laboratory analysis of radionuclides. The manual offers a framework for a performance-based approach to achieving data requirements and needs. This framework should promote national consistency in the generation ofradioanalytical data of known quality that are appropriate for its intended use. The MARLAP manual supports activities such as: site characterization, decommissioning, cleanup and compliance demonstration, emergency response, effluent and environmental monitoring, and radioactive waste management. MARLAP is organized into two parts. Part I is intended primarily for project planners and managers, and provides the basic framework of the directed planning process as it applies to projects requiring radioanalytical data for decision making. The nine chapters in Part I offer recommendations and guidance on project planning, key issues to be considered during the development of analytical protocol specifications, developing measurement quality objectives, project planning documents and their significance, obtaining laboratory services, selecting and applying analytical methods, evaluating methods and laboratories, verifying and validation radiochemical data, and assessing data quality. Part II is intended primarily for laboratory personnel. Its eleven chapters provide detailed guidance on field sampling issues that affect laboratory measurements, sample receipt and tracking, sample preparation in the laboratory, sample dissolution, chemical separation techniques, instrumentation for measuring radionuclides, data acquisition, data reduction, data reporting, waste management, laboratory quality control, measurement uncertainty, and detection and quantification capability. Seven appendices provide complementary information and additional details on specific topics. This paper presents an overview of MARLAP and how it can be used in decommissioning and cleanup activities. The MARLAP manual (NRC document number NUREG-1576 and EPA document number EPA 402-B-04-001A-C) is issued in three volumes (printed and CD-ROM versions) and is available through the Internet at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collectionsuregs/staff/srl576.