Allowable residual contamination levels for decommissioning: revisions to the method

In 1983, Pacific Northwest Laboratory published a series of reports that describe the Allowable Residual Contamination Level (ARCL) method for decommissioning US Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear facilities and sites. The purpose of the method was to provide engineers with a useful tool for conducting safety and cost comparisons for decommissioning alternatives. The ARCL results are based on a scenario/exposure-pathway analysis and compliance with an annual radiation dose limit. Recently, revisions were made to the method that are designed to make it more useful for site- or facility-specific model applications. These revisions include analysis of additional exposure scenarios and pathways, the addition of area/volume correction factors to account for small areas or volumes of residual contamination, and an evaluation of barrier and waste-form credit factors to be applied in the analysis. This paper contains a description of the area/volume correction factors that are intended to permit the model to account for small areas or volumes of residual contamination