NESHAP AREA-SPECIFIC DOSE-RELEASE FACTORS FOR POTENTIAL ONSITE MAXIMALLY EXPOSED INDIVIDUAL LOCATIONS USING CAP88-PC VERSION 4.0

Abstract

Operations at Savannah River Site (SRS) result in emissions of radionuclides into the air that can cause health problems to exposed individuals. To ensure the public dose standards are met, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set regulations known asthe National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutant (NESHAP) that prohibit certain activities in the facility. A maximally exposed individual (MEI) is a hypothetical adult living offsite that is representative of the general population that could potentially receive the maximum dose of radiation. The total effective dose (TED) to an MEI is routinely estimated to demonstrate compliance with NESHAP. EPA's software system CAP88 is used for the dose calculations. For my project, I found the dose release factors (DRF) for three onsite locations (B-Area Barricade, Three Rivers Landfill, and Savannah River Ecology Lab Conference Center) that have a potential to be open to members of the public. The DRFs represent the dose to a receptor exposed to 1 Ci of aspecified radionuclide being released into the atmosphere. The DRFs were applied to expected radionuclide release rates from each area of the site to estimate the potential dose to an onsite MEI. Comparison of the source-to-receptor distances, meteorological data, and total dose were collected and submitted as per NESHAP's reporting regulations. Data indicates that an MEI at Three Rivers Landfill would receive 40.93% increased dose compared to the 2016 NESHAP maximum offsite location. The potential MEI dose at Three Rivers Landfill fall at 3.40E02 mrem which is below the public dose limit of 10 mrem for atmospheric releases.