Eugene Rutz

Pilot study to determine levels of contamination in indoor dust resulting from contamination of soils

In order to develop more realistic risk assessments, an experimental program was conducted to characterize indoor, residential environments and the relationship between the indoor environment and contaminants that originated from the outdoor environment. Parameters measured included concentration of uranium in soils, mass loading of dust on indoor surfaces, and concentrations of uranium in indoor dust. Samples of indoor dust were collected using a personal air sampler modified to act as a low flow rate vacuum cleaner. The concentrations of uranium in indoor dust were measured using kinetic phosphorescence analysis, while the concentrations of uranium in outdoor soil were measured by analyzing the thorium‐234 activity using gamma‐ray spectrometry. This pilot study derived an estimate of 20 to 30% of indoor contamination resulting from sources in soil.

Developing Soil Cleaning Guidelines: Application to Sites in an Agricultural Area

There are a number of sites in the United States (US) that have background levels of residual radioactive material in the soil. This paper describes the application of a methodology for developing soll cleaning guidelines to two sites typical of much of the midwestern United States. The methodology employed is described in another paper entitled “Strategy for Developing Soil Cleaning Guidelines”. This analysis describes the very different behavior of U-238 at one site and Pu-238 at the other site.

Strategy for developing soil cleaning guidelines: “how clean is clean”

In order to re-use a site that has been cleaned of radioactive contamination, it must be demonstrated that the site is “clean enough” for its intended future use This paper presents a methodology describing the strategy and planning for developing such cleanup standards for a contaminated site. This methodology is illustrated in Figure 1.