1. DOE’s Technical Standard for Evaluating Radiation Doses to Biota: Overview of the Graded Approach Biota Dose Assessment Committee Meeting Washington, DC August 18 - 20, 1999 - Stephen Domotor - Environmental Policy and Assistance Air, Water and Radiation Division (EH-412)

2. Presentation Outline n Guiding Principles for Methods Development n Biota Dose Assessment Committee n Process Employed in Methods Development n DOE’s Graded Approach for Compliance n Biota Manual, Spreadsheets, and Database n Issues and Opportunities n Path Forward

3. Guiding Principles for DOE Methods Development n Provide a graded approach for multiple users n Easy to use and technically sound n Utilize existing generic and site-specific data n Applicable to multiple media n Incorporate eco-risk framework n Interdisciplinary team approach n Provide leadership in methods development

4. Biota Dose Assessment Committee n Formed June 1998 under DOE’s Technical Standards Program n An interdisciplinary team (health physics; radioecology; dose assessment; environmental monitoring) n Broad representation (DOE sites; labs; universities) n DOE focal point for biota dose assessment n Primary role in Biota Manual development n Advisory role to Program and Operations Offices n Web Site http://tis-nt.eh.doe.gov/oepa/public/bdac

5. BDAC Technical Standard Writing Group n Ernie Antonio (Pacific Northwest National Lab) n Gordon Bilyard (Pacific Northwest National Lab) n Steve Domotor (Dept. of Energy) n Gary Friday (Westinghouse Savannah River Co.) n Kathy Higley (Oregon State Univ.) n Dan Jones (Oak Ridge National Lab) n Dave Kocher (Oak Ridge National Lab) n Brad Sample (CH2M Hill)

6. A Process That Involves Users and Developers of the Method n A consensus-based process n BDAC Core Team prepared the strawman n Full BDAC review at each phase n Selected outside reviewers n Issues resolved via conference calls & Web Site n ISCORS inter-agency coordination initiated n BDAC workshop to pilot and refine the method n DOE Technical Standards Approval Process

7. DOE’s Graded Approach Compare media concentrations with BCGs 1 Data Assembly 2 General Screening Site-representative parameters 3 Analysis Site Specific Screening Site Specific Analysis Site Specific Biota Dose Assessment Kinetic modeling tool Eco-risk framework

8. Receptors Used in Deriving the Screening Methodology BCGs aquatic riparian terrestrial terrestrial animal animal animal plant

9. Biota Concentration Guides

10. Biota Manual USING THE GRADED APPROACH (user-friendly) –Applications and Exclusions –Look-up tables and Step-by-Step Guidance APPENDICES (detailed references and technical basis) –Time averaging and spatial variability –Biota sampling methods –Default parameter values –Derivation of screening and kinetic model equations –Radiation weighting factor for alpha particles

11. User Friendly Spreadsheets n Encodes Method –Microsoft Excel ® –Visual Basic ®

12. Automated Calculations

13. Site-Specific Modifications

14. Helpful Reference Notes

15. A Web-Accessible Database n Supports DOE approach and other methods n Contains parameter data (K d s; B iv s) & references n Users can add, edit and search for data remotely n Users can search by multiple attributes: –nuclide; parameter, taxonomic group, organism type, soil type, reference n A prototype is available within the BDAC

16. Issues and Opportunities n Technical - –Radiation weighting factor for alpha-emitters –Vertical transport of radionuclides by plants: considerations for soil sampling –Adjustments for size of contaminated zone and organism home range –Compilation and “benchmarking” of models and methods –Risk management options following an indication that dose limits are potentially exceeded n Interest and Support - –Strong interest from the radioecology community, local regulators, private sector, and internationally

17. Successes and a Path Forward for Continued Progress Early WorkOct 1996 and Dec 1997 trial approaches Jun 1998BDAC Formed Dec 1998Draft Biota Manual/new method completed Jan 1999IAEA Technical Committee Meeting Jan - Feb 1999Biota Manual reviewed within BDAC Jan - Jul 1999Refine and pilot (5/99) database Mar - Apr 1999Assess and resolve comments Apr - Jul 1999Refine spreadsheets and Biota Manual May 1999International Symposium (Canada) Jun 1999Health Physics Society Annual Mtg. Aug 1999BDAC Meeting/Workshop Sep - Oct 1999Final Biota Manual to DOE TSP/External