Personnel Contamination Control - doe-std-1128-98

DOE-STD-1128-98

During the decommissioning of a mixed-oxide fuel fabrication facility, West et al.

(1991) used a nondestructive assay system to provide criticality safety monitoring,

track the plutonium inventory, provide measurement of decontamination

effectiveness, and provide quantitative characterization/assay of the waste. The

system consisted of an integrated set of two passive neutron networks, two pulsed

active neutron units, a high-resolution gamma spectrometer [high-purity germanium

(HPGe)], and a neutron-coincidence counting unit. Waste determined to be less than

10 nCi/g was certified as class A low-level waste (LLW).

4.2.7 ALARA Guidelines

Contamination levels should be maintained ALARA to minimize the potential for the

spread of contamination and to reduce the protective measures and equipment

required. Control of radioactive material at the source and prevention of the

generation of contamination are more effective and less costly than remediation.

4.3

PERSONNEL CONTAMINATION CONTROL

As described earlier, the purpose of contamination control is to prevent the ingestion or

inhalation of plutonium by workers. This is primarily achieved by the engineered barriers

discussed previously, containment, confinement, and ventilation control. Only if the

primary controls fail or if there is a potential for personnel contamination during an activity

are administrative controls such as protective clothing and respirators advisable.

4.3.1 Monitoring Philosophy

Monitoring the worker is necessary, not only to ensure that a potential intake is

detected promptly and that the resulting internal dose is assessed, but to confirm the

integrity of the engineered containment system and ensure the effectiveness of the

overall radiation protection program.

There are several types of worker monitoring, some during and immediately

following work with radioactive material and some scheduled for a later time at a

preset frequency. This section addresses only methods of monitoring the worker at

the workstation. Other methods are discussed in the section that deals with internal

and external exposure controls.

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