2020 Health Physics Society Midyear Meeting & ExhibitionMAM-B
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| Chair(s): Gary Chen, Brendan Palmer |
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MAM-B.1 10:00 Using RadResponder to Proliferate Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center (FRMAC) Lab Analysis Methodology. Crawford Sean M, FEMA; Palmer Brendan*, Chainbridge Technologies Sean.Crawford@fema.dhs.gov
As the federally-sponsored National Standard and whole community solution to the management of radiological data, RadResponder aims to provide end-to-end workflows for all data management needs, serving the diverse spectrum of response entities. Until recently, the simplified lab analysis process in RadResponder had been insufficient to meet the complex requirements of the Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center. For the first time, new collaborative efforts between the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency have outlined an improved FRMAC lab analysis process that is currently being developed in RadResponder. With a user base of nearly ten thousand responders, RadResponder can then proliferate FRMAC lab processes and best practices among the state/local response community, just as it currently does for data quality standards. Ultimately, the more processes become standardized via a single platform, the more ready we are as a community to respond to a multi-jurisdictional incident. |
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MAM-B.2 10:15 Nuclear Power Plant Adoption of RadResponder: Where Are We Now? Crawford Sean M, FEMA; Palmer Brendan*, Chainbridge Technologies Sean.Crawford@fema.dhs.gov
While state and local emergency response organizations have been quick to embrace RadResponder (the federally-sponsored National Standard and whole community solution to the management of radiological data) as their solution to data management and sharing, the nuclear power utilities have been historically cautious in introducing new technologies to their response operations. This presentation will discuss the nuclear power utilities’ increased interest in and use of RadResponder over the past few years. Specifically, Indian Point Energy Center’s adoption of RadResponder in New York state will serve as a case study for best practices in response procedures and overcoming the challenges of adopting new technology in a traditionally closed industry. The session will conclude with a discussion of the path forward for industry partners and potential future challenges. Attendees are encouraged to take these lessons learned and apply them in their own states to help bridge the data-sharing gap between state/local response agencies and the utilities. |
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MAM-B.3 10:30 RadResponder: A Dose Tracking Solution for Multijurisdictional Response. Crawford Sean M, FEMA; Palmer Brendan*, Chainbridge Technologies Sean.Crawford@fema.dhs.gov
As part of a joint effort between the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Office and the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, with input from several state response organizations, RadResponder has begun implementing an external dose tracking solution for emergency response workers. An initial version of this solution is currently available in the RadResponder website and was recently demonstrated, using simulated data, during the Vibrant Response 2019 Exercise. This session will outline what enhancements have been completed and what the vision holds for responder dose tracking in RadResponder. Beyond dose tracking for RadResponder account holders, RadResponder aims to provide a solution to the challenge of tracking dose for volunteers and those without personal dosimeters or RadResponder accounts, as may be the case in a large-scale, multijurisdictional incident. Finally, this session will briefly address HIPPA and privacy concerns related to storing and sharing individual dose information. |
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MAM-B.4 10:45 RadResponder Network – A Quick Walkthrough With The Newest Updates . Chen Gary*, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chen.gary@epa.gov
In the past, there were tools that federal agencies used to input and share radiological data. However, the tools were not easy to use, and the output data were not easily shareable across the agencies. Most importantly, they were not available to all of the radiation emergency organizations at all levels (state, tribal and local). It is essential that, during a radiological emergency event, there is a common tool that is easy to use and accessible to all organizations nationwide to share radiological data. Together, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Nuclear Incident Response Team program, in conjunction with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), created the RadResponder Network. The programing development of RadResponder Network began in 2012, and it is aiming to become the national standard and Whole Community solution for the management of radiological data. Since the inception of the RadResponder Network, the radiological emergency response communities have gradually become aware of this unique tool, and it has grown from 300 registered organizations and 1000 registered users to 1480 organizations and over 6800 users today. RadResponder is an ongoing project, and it constantly improves itself by adding new functions and enhancement from the communities' input and suggestions. The purpose of this presentation is to inform the communities about the technical enhancement and new functions that have been added to the RadResponder Network since the 2018 Annual HPS meeting. |
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MAM-B.5 11:00 Overview of International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements Report 92, Radiation Monitoring for Protection of the Public after Major Releases of Radionuclides to the Environment. Tupin Edward A*, consultant; Tupin EDWARD etupin@yahoo.com
The Report provides detailed practical information on radiation monitoring in emergency and existing exposure situations after major releases of radioactive material to the environment. Target users of the report are parties responsible for the planning, design, and operation of off-site radiation monitoring at national, regional, and local levels. This Report deals with the design and operation of off-site monitoring programs and systems relating to major releases of radioactive material to the environment from nuclear installations. The Report is focused on emergency and existing exposure situations caused by events at nuclear power plants. It may be applicable to other emergencies involving radioactive material. The technical substance of the report is mostly contained in three sections. Section 2, Major Radioactive Releases to the Environment, provides a brief description of major nuclear emergencies that have occurred. It describes the source terms and processes that caused the contamination of the environment and public exposure. Section 3, Monitoring Programs, discusses objectives and scope of various monitoring programs. To enable users to identify the parameters of a monitoring program, the Section specifies media to be sampled, spatial locations and frequencies of sampling or measurements, and the primary radionuclides to be quantified. Section 4, Monitoring Systems and Methods, focuses on the systems that can be employed to gather off- site radiological information. The Section describes the sampling and measurement equipment and the associated measurement methodologies. Section 5, Quantities used in Radiation Protection, provides information about radiation measurement quantities and recommends their application for radiation monitoring in emergency and existing exposure situations. Internationally harmonized approaches to the application of quantities and units are especially important for reliable data exchange and decision making in emergency exposure situations. |
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MAM-B.6 11:15 Nuclear Accident Simulation Study: Impact Of 2017 Protective Action Guides On State Emergency Response. McMahon Michael D*, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality; Chancellor Jeffery C, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge MichaelDMcMahon@ProtonMail.com
For the past few decades, Louisiana Emergency Response Plans for a potential accident at a nuclear power plant have been based on the 1992 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Protective Action Guides (PAGs). In 2017 the EPA issued a new PAG manual which updated the dose assessment methodology and made other recommended changes to policy, including a supplemental PAG for administering Potassium Iodide (KI) based on the child thyroid dose, rather than the adult dose as previously. Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) has elected to implement a modified form of these recommendations with evacuation in lieu of KI administration, to become effective beginning July 2020. It will be some time before the Nuclear Power Plants can adopt the 2017 PAGs, if ever, and during this transitional time period there may be accident scenarios in which LDEQ recommendations to government officials would differ from those of the utility. In preparation for this change, LDEQ is performing a comprehensive set of simulations of potential accidents in order to determine which scenarios would lead to different evacuation recommendations. Tabulating this data for a wide variety of accident and weather conditions will allow utility and LDEQ personnel to know in advance which conditions will likely lead to a different set of recommendations so that they can prepare beforehand. The results of these simulations will also be useful to other states as they consider implementing the 2017 PAGs. Some of the initial results of this study and their implications are presented, using a combination of the RASCAL software package (provided by Nuclear Regulatory Commission) and URI, a Software system used by Entergy combining the basic RASCAL dose modeling methodology with plant specific input. It is shown that offsite consequences of a nuclear power plant accident rely almost as heavily on the external meteorological conditions as they do on the conditions inside the plant. |
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MAM-B.7 11:30 Temporally and spatially dependent prediction of dose to population monitoring staff following a nuclear explosive device detonation. Samuels Caleigh E*, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Ansari Armin J, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Finklea Lauren R, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Hertel Nolan E, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Georgia Institute of Technology samuelsce@ornl.gov
Following the detonation of a nuclear explosive device (NED), large populations will become externally contaminated and be at increased risk of internal contamination. These populations are expected to report to previously designated screening locations where the urgency of decontamination procedures will be determined. The screening level applied to determine this urgency will be dependent on both the amount of time passed since detonation and the distance from ground zero. These factors will also affect the dose received by both the contaminated individual as well as the volunteer screener. In this work, the Defense Land Interpretive Code (DELFIC) and the Oak Ridge Isotope Generation (ORIGEN) Fallout Analysis Tool (FAT) were used to determine the isotopic composition of the plume as a function of time and distance from ground zero. Monte Carlo methods were used to assess the air kerma rates at recommended detector distances for population monitoring and effective doses to the contaminated individual and the screener due to photons originating from the contamination. These values were determined for the photon spectra for each radionuclide present in the contamination. The results were used to determine the associated measurable external radiation levels and effective doses. |