1. The Role of Health Physicists in Uranium Site Cleanups Alisha Stallard, Environmental Health Physicist Radioactive Materials Division Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Environmental Trade Fair 2015

2. What is the overall objective? Terminate the licensee’s radioactive material license and Release the site for restricted or unrestricted use To reach this goal, a Completion Review Report (CRR) must be completed by the TCEQ and submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for their concurrence

3. Contents of a CRR Description of licensee’s activities Groundwater information Production, injection, & monitoring wells have been closed & plugged (in-situ mining) Decommissioning information Discussion of radiation surveys and soil sample analyses Discussion of the State’s confirmatory surveys

4. Primary Areas of Review for Health Physicists Site history Decommissioning information Radiation surveys Soil sample analyses Confirmatory surveys

5. Site History Look at old photographs Were there any spills? - If so, were the spills remediated? Were there any complaints regarding the site?

6. Decommissioning of the Site Once decommissioning is completed by the licensee in accordance with their approved closure plan, they will submit the following information to the TCEQ: Certify the disposition of all radioactive material, including by-product material; and Conduct radiation surveys, analyze soil samples and report that the radiation levels are suitable for release in accordance with 30 TAC §336.1115(e).

7. Release Criteria 1.Concentration of Ra-226 in soil averaged over 100 m 2 should not exceed background level by: 5 pCi/g in the first 15 cm of soil and 15 pCi/g below 15 cm of soil. 2.Contamination of vegetation may not exceed 5 pCi/g for Ra-226.

8. Release Criteria cont. 3.By-product material containing concentrations of radionuclides other than radium in soil and surfaces, must not result in a total effective dose equivalent exceeding the dose from cleanup of radium contaminated soil to the standard in 1. above (radium benchmark dose) and must be at levels which are ALARA. (More information found in NUREG-1620)

9. Health Physics (HP) Review After review of the licensee’s survey and sample analysis data, TCEQ will conduct confirmatory surveys.

10. Confirmatory Surveys The TCEQ will perform radiation surveys and soil sampling at select points of interest at the site. If the surveys and sampling results confirm that the site has met the release criteria, then a draft CRR will be completed and submitted to the NRC for their review. The TCEQ will amend or add to the CRR if requested and will submit a final CRR.

11. Site Closure & License Termination Once the NRC concurs with the information in the CRR, the license is terminated and the site is released for either restricted or unrestricted use.

12. Thank you Alisha Stallard Radioactive Materials Division Texas Commission on Environmental Quality P.O. Box 13087, Mail Code-233 Austin, TX 78711 (512) 239-6453 Alisha.Stallard@tceq.texas.gov