Technical basis for establishing residual radioactive concentrations

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulates the release of slightly radioactive property for unrestricted use. On July 3, 1990, the NRC published a Policy Statement concerning slightly radioactive materials that are below regulatory concern (BRC). The BRC Policy Statement ''establishes the framework within which the Commission will formulate rules or make licensing decisions to exempt from some or all regulatory controls certain practices involving small quantities of radioactive material.'' The heart of the NRC Policy Statement on BRC material is its individual and collective radiation dose limits. To ensure a uniform approach and consistent regulatory decisions, the NRC authorized the development of a comprehensive technical basis that considers the translation of residual contamination levels to annual dose. Radiation doses from residual contamination in buildings and soil are derived from a generic radiation exposure scenario analysis. This paper describes the development of the comprehensive technical basis for translating residual contamination levels to annual dose, provides the modeling details of an example scenario, and presents a comparison of results with existing guidance in Regulatory Guide 1.86. 4 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs