ML20136G799
| ML20136G799 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 02/28/1997 |
| From: | Sobel P NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | Bastian R, Doehnert M, Goode P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY |
| References | |
| REF-WM-3 NUDOCS 9703180203 | |
| Download: ML20136G799 (7) | |
Text
.
February 28, 1997
Dear Members of the ISCORS Sewage Subcommittee:
I invite you to attend the next meeting of the ISCORS Sewage Subcommittee to be held on March 12, 1997, from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m.
The meeting will be held at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland in Conference Room T-7F5. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss progress on the sewage sludge / ash survey and the guidance document for POTW operators. An agenda and the summary of the last subcommittee meeting are enclosed. You will receive the March 1997 version of the draft guidance document at the meeting.
I look forward to meeting with you on January 22.
If you have any questions about the meeting, please call me at (301) 415-6714 or Bob Bastian at the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency at (202) 260-7378.
Sincerely,
[0RIGIRAL SIGNED BY:]
Phyllis Sobel, Project Manager Low-Level Waste and Decommissioning Projects Branch Office of Nuclear Material Safety l
and Safeguards
Enclosures:
As stated a
cc:
John Hickey, NRC Tom O'Brien, OSP Robert Nee), NRC Brian Horn, FCSS Cyndi Jones, IMNS Kristen Klaskey, FCSS Cheryl Trottier, RES Michael ::chaeffer, D0D/DNA Chris Daily, RES Andy Wallo, DOE /EH-41 Bob Meck, RES Dave Saunders, EPA /NAREL Lee Abramson, RES Clint Cox, EPA /NAREl.
Dale Condra, ORISE DISTRIBUTION:
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February 28, 1997
Dear Members of the ISCORS Sewage Subcommittee:
I invite you to attend the next meeting of the ISCORS Sewage Subcommittee to be held on March 12, 1997, from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m.
The meeting will be held at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland in Conference Room T-7F5. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss progress on the sewage sludge / ash survey and the guidance document for POTW operators. An agenda and the summary of the last subcommittee meeting are enclosed.
You will receive the March 1997 version of the draft guidance document at the meeting.
I look forward to meeting with you on March 12.
If you have any questions about the meeting, please call me at (301) 415-6714 or Bob Bastian at the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency at (202) 260-7378.
Sincerely, YS Phyllt-Sobel, Project Manager Low-Level Waste and Decommissioning Projects Branch Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
Enclosures:
As stated cc:
John Hickey, NRC Robert Neel, NRC
]
Cyndi Jones, IMNS Joe DeCicco, IMNS Cheryl Trottier, RES Chris Daily, RES Bob Meck, RES Lee Abramson, RES Tom O'Brien, OSP Brian Horn, FCSS Kristen Klaskey, FCSS Michael Schaeffer, D0D/DNA Andy Wallo, DOE /EH-41 Dave Saunders, EPA /NAREL Clint Cox, EPA /NAREL Dale Condra, ORISE j
i DISTRIBUTE T0:
Robert Bastian Office of Wastewater Management (4204)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20460 Paula Goode l
Office of Radiation and Indoor Air U.S. Environmental Protection Agency bc 5460 hn o Mark Doehnert Office of Radiation and Indoor Air U.S. Environmental Protection Agency h ng o bC b460 Roy Lovett Directorate for Safety and Engineering ATTN: MCH0-SHE Building 1500, Ft. Detrick Frederick, MD 21702 l
James Bachmaier U.S. Department of Energy Mail Stop EH-412 1000 Independence Avenue SW Washington, DC 20585 William Dornsife Director, Bureau of Radiation Protection Department of Environmental Resources Commonwealth of Pennsylvania P.O. Box 2063 Harrisburg, PA 17120 I
1
ISCORS SEWAGE SUBCOMMITTEE AGENDA FOR MARCH 12, 1997 MEETING 9:00 TO 11:30 A.M.
SEWAGE SURVEY (9:00 - 10:30 a.m.)
Comments on Federal Register Notice (Sobol) i Analysis of samples from test sites (0 RISE and EPA /NAREL)
Licensees associated with test sites (Sobel)
Radiochemical analysis decision tree (Neel) l Quality Assurance Program Plan (Wisdom)
Report on test sites (Sobel)
Selection of POTWs (Sobel/ Bastian)
- POTWs to receive questionnaire j
What are " elevated" levels of radionuclides (Neel)
POTW GUIDANCE DOCUMENT (10:30 - 11:30 a.m.)
March 1997 Draft of guidance document (Sobel)
Dose modeling - scenarios (Daily /Neel)
SCHEDULE NEXT MEETING AT ORISE Enclosures
i i
DISCLAIMER These ISCORS subcomittee meeting summaries result from interagency i
discussions. The Sewage Subcommittee is composed of representatives from j'
the Environmental Protection Agency, Nuclear Regulatory Comission, Department of Defense, and Department of Energy. The subcommittee meeting sumaries have not been approved by the respective federal agencies and do not represent the official position of any participating agency at this time.
l ISCORS SEWAGE SUBCOMMITTEE
]
MEETING
SUMMARY
i Date:
January 22, 1997 Time:
9:00 to 11:30 am Location:
NRC, Two White Flint North Attendess:
NRC:
Phyllis Sobel, Bob Neel, Chris Daily, Tom O'Brien EPA:
Bob Bastian, Paula Goode DOE: Jim Bachmaier D00:
Roy Lovett EPA /NAREL: Dave Saunders, Clint Cox, Mary Wisdom ORISE: Mark Laudeman Agenda:
POTW Guidance document Sewage survey Sumary:
The subcomittee discussed the December 1996 draft of the guidance document.
We agreed to move some of the background sections on radiation to an appendix and add an appendix with a case study. We also will consider adding some of the ideas in a paper submitted by Mark Miller, who is associated with the Albuquerque POTW.
We will also consider adding a discussion of releases from facilities with unlicensed radioactive materials. Tom O'Brien suggested adding material from NRC Regulatory Guide 8.29 on consumer products.
RES has not yet begun the dose modeling which will form the basis for a table of acceptable concentrations of radionuclides in sludge and ash.
The Federal Register notice on the OMB supporting statement for the survey was
)
published January 6, 1997. The next Federal Register notice on the survey will be published after the public coment period ends (March 7) and after the analyses of the test' sites are completed.
j j
All the questionnaires were returned from the test sites and NRC is developing i
a sumary of the responses. The sample collection packages were sent to the i
1
1
' rema'ining 7 test sites in early January and several P0TWs have returned the packages with the samples. Several DOE labs associated with POTW test sites are sending samples from their sewer lines to ORISE and NAREL for analysis.
-NRC is developing the list of licemees associated with the test sites from the zip code information in the questionnaire responses.
Among the lessons learned so far are that the questionnaire should include the location to send the sample collection packages and a question on the nature l
of the material being sampled from each sludge use or disposal practice (liquid,- dried cake, pellets, etc.) The Chain of Custody form will need to add the name of the POTW and clearer procedures for completing the form.
Tom O'Brien and Bob Neel presented a revised decision tree for the additional radiochemical analysis.
The action levels for additional radiochemical 1
analysis for specific radionuclides are tentatively set at 15 pCi/g for gross alpha and 25 pCi/g for gross beta results, based on the results of the AMSA 3
survey.
These actions levels will be re-examined after the test sites are analyzed and again after several months of survey results.
Following current practice, the MDAs should be 10% of these AMSA values.
It is expected that most of the additional radiochemical analysis will be on ash samples from incinerators, because in the AMSA survey most of the higher gross alpha and beta results were from~ the ash samples.
Mary Wisdom distributed a first draft of the Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) and asked for inputs. Although ORISE can analyze samples under their own QA plan, ORISE must have the-QAPP in place for each project.
It is expected that the QAPP will be signed by NAREL, ORISE and EPA /HQ.
Phyllis Sobel discussed the planned procedure for selecting POTWs for the questionnaire.
The procedure ~is designed to (1) maximize measurements of high radioactivity at POTWs and (2) measure radioactive materials in sewage sludge and ash from the incineration of sewage sludge at POTWs across the U.S.
The list of POTWs to be sent the questionnaire will be developed as follows:
(1) determine POTWs associated with licensees with the greatest potential for discharge, (2) sample many of the POTWs with incinerators, (3) ensure that the POTWs are in all geographic areas of the contiguous U.S. (if not, consider adding POTWs from the 479 POTWs selected to receive the questionnaire in the-EPA 1988-89 National Sewage Sludge Survey (NSSS), (4) add any POTWs which for some reason should be included (e.g. unusual sludge use/ disposal practices or the wastewater collection system receives discharges of drinking water treatment residuals), and (5) add POTWs requested by other ISCORS agencies or other interested groups.
NRC developed a list of NRC licensees that have the greatest potential'for discharge.
Bob Bastian will help establish a list of POTWs associated with these licensees.
The next meeting will be on March 12 from 9 to 11:30 am. At this meeting we will discuss the next draft of the guidance document, the results of dose modeling for the guidance document, the lab's results on the test sites, the first draft of the report on the test sites, the QAPP, and the next Federal Register notice on the survey.
Action Items:
1.
The subcommittee will send comments on the guidance document to Phyllis
l l
S6 bel by February 3.
She will send a revised draft to the subcommittee before the next subcommittee meeting.
2.
The subcommittee will send Mary Wisdom comments on the QAPP by February 10 so she can circulate a revised draft by February 20, 3.
Bob Neel will schedule a lab working group phone call on February 24 to discun the QAPP and the analytical results of the test sites.
4.
Phyllis Sobel will schedule a meeting with Bob Bastian, Chuck White, Lee Abramson, and Bob Neel to discuss the procedures for selecting POTWS to receive the questionnaire and to'be sampled.
5.
Phyllis Sobel will determine the licensees associated with the test sites.
6.
The subcommittee will send comments on the outline of the report on the test sites to Phyllis Sobel.
7.
ORISE will revise the Chain of Custody form.
8.
The labs will analyze the samples before March 7 (if the samples arrive at the labs in time).
(March 7 is the same date the public comments on the Federal Register notice are due.)
9.
Phyllis Sobel will draft a second Federal Register notice on the survey, which includes a revised OMB supporting statement, a revised questionnaire, i
and the report on the test sites.
Old Action Items Which Have Not Been Completed:
1.
NRC (Nelson) will consider sending the test POTWs (1) a list of those licensees who discharge into their collection system and (2) the analysis results for that POTW.
2.
The labs will complete the additional radiochemical analysis on the samples from the first two test sites.
3.
Bob Bastian will meet with NRC to discuss the parameters in the exposure scenarios.