ER-Worker: A computer code to predict remediation worker exposure and safety hazards

摘要

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has generated and disposed of large quantities of waste as a result of 50 years of nuclear weapons production. This waste has been disposed of in waste sites such as burial grounds, waste pits, holding ponds, and landfills. Many of these waste sites have begun to release contamination offsite and potentially pose risks to humans living or working in the vicinity of these sites. By 2019, DOE must meet its goals to achieve timely compliance with all applicable environmental requirements, clean up the 1989 inventory of hazardous and radioactive wastes at inactive sites and facilities, and safely and efficiently treat, store, and dispose of the waste generated by remediation and operating facilities. Remediation of DOE's 13,000 facilities, and management of the current and future waste streams, will require the effort of thousands of workers. Workers, as defined here, are persons who directly participate in the cleanup or remediation of DOE sites. Remediation activities include the use of remediation technologies such as bioremediation, surface water controls, and contaminated soil excavation. This document describes a worker health risk evaluation methodology and computer code designed to predict risks associated with Environmental Restoration (ER) activities that are yet to be undertaken. The computer code, designated ER-WORKER, can be used to estimate worker risks across the DOE complex on a site-specific, installation-wide, or programmatic level. This approach generally follows the guidance suggested in the Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund (RAGS) (EPA 1989a). Key principles from other important Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and DOE guidance documents are incorporated into the methodology.