Analysis of area monitoring options for Westinghouse Hanford Company

In June 1992, the Department of Energy issued DOE N 5480.6, Radiological Control Manual, which established practices for conducting radiological control activities at all DOE and DOE-funded sites that manage radiation or radioactive materials. To implement the RCM, each DOE facility was required to develop and approve their own radiological control manual, which described a phased approach to implementing the RCM over a period of time. This document, for the Hanford Site, is called the Hanford Site Radiological Control Manual. The HSRCM was issued in December 1992 (RL 1992). This project relates to Article 514 in the RCM, which discusses establishing and maintaining a comprehensive area monitoring program for minimizing the number of areas requiring the issuance of personnel dosimeters and for verifying that doses next to Radiological Buffer Areas are negligible. Three specific items in this article address the use of area monitoring dosimeters to (1) record and document radiation levels in routinely occuPied areas adjacent to areas where radiation or operations with radiation exist, (2) support dosimetry investigations, and (3) supplement the existing monitoring programs in Controlled Areas in the event of an emergency.