[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 28 (Wednesday, February 11, 1998)] [Notices] [Pages 6915-6917] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 98-3432] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. A-96-44] Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual AGENCY: U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of availability. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are announcing the availability for use of the ``Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual'' (MARSSIM). The MARSSIM provides information on planning, conducting, evaluating, and documenting environmental radiological surveys of surface soils and building surfaces for demonstrating compliance with regulations. The MARSSIM, now finalized, is a multi-agency consensus document. The agencies previously have sought public comment in order to receive feedback from the widest range of interested parties and to ensure that all information relevant to developing the document was received. The agencies reviewed public comments received on the draft MARSSIM as well as comments from a concurrent, independent, technical peer review. Suggested changes were incorporated, where appropriate, in response to those comments. ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft and the final MARSSIM and all public and technical peer review comments received may be examined or copied for a fee at the EPA Docket Room M1500, Docket No. A-96-44, First Floor Waterside Mall, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington D.C. 20460; and the NRC Public Document Room, 2120 L Street, NW, Washington DC 20555-0001. The EPA docket may be inspected from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays in Room M1500 at the address above. NRC documents may be inspected from 7:45 am to 4:15 pm, Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays in the lower level of the building at the address above. Copies of the MARSSIM may be [[Page 6916]] purchased by requests in writing to: The Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 37082, Washington, DC 20402- 9328. The NRC document number is NUREG-1575, and the EPA document number is EPA 402-R-97-016. The manual is also available through the Internet at: http://www.epa.gov/radiation/marssim or by linkage from the NRC home page at: http://www.nrc.gov; or the DOE home page at: http://www.doe.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any of the following points of contact for each agency for technical information (see ``Addresses'' section above for directions on obtaining a copy of the MARSSIM): DOE: Kenneth Duvall, Phone: (202) 586-0242, U.S. Department of Energy (EH-412), 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585, e-mail [email protected]; EPA: Mark Doehnert; Phone: (202) 564-9386, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Stop 6602J, 401 M. Street, SW, Washington DC 20460, e-mail [email protected]; NRC: Robert A. Meck, Phone: (301) 415-6205, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, MS T-9C24, Washington DC 20555, e-mail [email protected]. Questions concerning the multi-agency document development project should be addressed to CDR Colleen Petullo, U.S. Public Health Service at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, R&IE, PO Box 98517, Las Vegas, NV 89193-8517, (702) 798-2476, e-mail [email protected]. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The MARSSIM provides information on planning, conducting, evaluating, and documenting environmental radiological surveys of surface soil and building surfaces for demonstrating compliance with regulations. The MARSSIM, now finalized, is a multi-agency consensus document. The MARSSIM was developed collaboratively over the past four years by the technical staffs of four Federal agencies having authority for control of radioactive materials: DOD, DOE, EPA, and NRC. Members of the public and contractors to the Federal agencies have been present during the open meetings of the MARSSIM work group and have been provided opportunities for input. The MARSSIM's objective is to describe standardized and consistent approaches for surveys of soil surfaces and building surfaces, which provide a high degree of assurance that established release criteria, limits, guidelines, and conditions of the regulatory agencies are satisfied, while at the same time encouraging an effective use of resources. The techniques, methodologies, and philosophies that form the bases of this manual were developed to be consistent with current Federal limits, guidelines, and procedures. The MARSSIM benefited from extensive internal, public, and technical peer reviews and public comments. Before the publication of the draft for public comment, the Federal agencies performed an internal review. Those internal review comments that reflected a technical error or flaw in logic or information flow were addressed before public comments were requested. The other comments, e.g., clarifications, editorial suggestions, etc., from the Federal agencies were addressed along with the public comments. The public review was a necessary step in the development of a final multi-agency consensus document. In addition to written comments, the work group provided the public with the opportunity to comment during the open meetings. The document also received formal technical peer review under the auspices of the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB). The results of the peer review and the responses to comments by the EPA will be publicly available for examination and may be copied for a fee (see ``Addresses'' section above for directions). Reviewers were requested to focus on technical accuracy and understandability. Reviewers were also requested to address five questions while reviewing the MARSSIM. In consideration of the responses to the questions, other comments, and the changes incorporated into the final version of the MARSSIM, the answers to the questions are listed as follows: 1. Does the MARSSIM provide a practical and implementable approach to performing radiation surveys and site investigations? Are there any major drawbacks to the proposed methods? Answer: The MARSSIM has been shown to be practical and implementable in field tests. Identified difficulties in establishing a suitable background reference area for radionuclides in common with natural or ubiquitous radionuclides are intrinsic to the situations, and such difficulties exist regardless of the measurement method. The MARSSIM provides technically defensible and efficient methods to demonstrate compliance with radiological criteria. 2. Is the MARSSIM technically accurate? Answer: Within the scope of the MARSSIM, the methods are technically accurate and applicable over a large range of situations. 3. Does the MARSSIM provide benefits that are not available using current methods? What is the value of the MARSSIM in comparison with other currently available alternatives? Answer: The MARSSIM provides a technically defensible process over a broad range of situations. Results to date indicate that the MARSSIM process requires fewer measurements in comparison to other methods for demonstrating compliance for radiological sites. The MARSSIM also provides a performance based approach and has a strong focus on planning. 4. What are the costs associated with the MARSSIM in comparison with other currently available alternatives? Answer: The MARSSIM process optimizes the number of samples needed to demonstrate compliance with radiological criteria within the accepted decision errors. Other methods may either overestimate or underestimate the number of samples needed to demonstrate compliance or may not take decision errors into account. The MARSSIM generally involves more planning and less re-work than other currently available methods. 5. Is the information in the MARSSIM understandable and presented in a logical sequence? How can the presentation of material be modified to improve the understandability of the manual? Answer: Several Chapters in the MARSSIM were significantly revised for clarity, understandability, and elaboration in response to comments. The overall basic processes and methods did not change. The author agencies solicit comments arising from review and use of the final MARSSIM. Comments will be reviewed periodically by the author agencies, resolved as appropriate, and incorporated into revisions of the MARSSIM. Members of the public are invited to submit written comments to EITHER the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ATTN: Air and Radiation Docket, Mail Stop 6102, Air Docket No. A-96-44, Room M1500, First Floor Waterside Mall, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington D.C. 20460 or the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555-0001. Copies of all comments received by one agency will be periodically copied and sent to the others. Revised pages resulting from the resolution of comments will be available on the Internet at the world wide web site: http://www.epa.gov/radiation/marssim. This EPA world wide web site is also accessible by links from the NRC home page at: http:// [[Page 6917]] www.nrc.gov; and the DOE home page at: http://www.doe.gov. Title: Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual. For the Department of Defense, dated this 15th day of January 1998. Gary D. Vest, Principal Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Environmental Security. For the U. S. Department of Energy, dated this 22nd day of December 1997. Raymond P. Berube, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment. For the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, dated this 23rd day of December 1997. Lawrence G. Weinstock, Acting Director, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air. For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, dated this 18th day of December 1997. Malcolm R. Knapp, Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. [FR Doc. 98-3432 Filed 2-10-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P