Role of the inclusion survey contractor in the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Program

Twenty-four former uranium mills are involved in the Department of Energy's Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Program (UMTRAP). The Radiological Survey Activities project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory serves as the Inclusion Survey Contractor (ISC) in the UMTRA program. Responsibilities of the ISC are: (1) to identify potentially contaminated sites in the vicinity of these former uranium mills; (2) conduct radiological surveys to assess whether the property is contaminated with material originating from the mill in excess of Environmental Protection Agency criteria formulated specifically for the UMTRA program (40 CFR 192); and (3) provide recommendations to DOE regarding remedial action. Properties are identified by the ISC using historical information, serial and ground-level gamma scanning, and surveying erosional pathways (wind and water movement of contamination from primary sources). Currently, over 8000 vicinity properties have been identified that warrant further investigation. Once identified, an inclusion survey is conducted to assess whether a property is sufficiently contaminated to warrant inclusion into the UMTRA program. The inclusion survey includes a complete gamma scan of the surfaces of the property outdoors and the lowest habitable level indoors, and collection of soil samples outdoors and/or radon daughter samples indoors if required. Survey methods are described. 8 references