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UTAH AMRP RADIATION SAFETY PLAN by Anthony A. Gallegos

Learn about radiation sources at abandoned mines, radiation measurement equipment, regulations and agencies, adopting safety standards, and problems faced. Ensure safety at abandoned uranium mines.

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UTAH AMRP RADIATION SAFETY PLAN by Anthony A. Gallegos

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  1. UTAH AMRPRADIATION SAFETY PLANby Anthony A. Gallegos

  2. Presentation Overview • Radiation sources at abandoned mines • Radiation 101 (radiation for dummies) • Looking for guidance (regulations, agencies) • Adopting standards & protocols • Paper versus real world • Retrospect • Radiation measuring equipment we use • Problems so far

  3. Radiation at abandoned uranium mines • Abandoned ore piles • Waste dumps • Mine portals (ore vein in ribs, roof) • Mine portal discharge • Mine workings (air)

  4. Radiation 101 • Units of measure & terms • Roentgen – amount of ionization in air • Rad – radiation absorbed dose: energy deposited into some material • Rem – roentgen equivalent man: effective dose equivalent (biological risk of a radiation dose) • WL – working level: radon concentration (alpha)

  5. Radiation 101-more- • Occupational worker: radiation exposure as a part of the work assignment • Non-occupational worker: everyone else, including the general public • NORM – naturally occurring radioactive materials • TENORM – technologically enhanced NORM

  6. Looking for guidance • NRC – Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulates source material (uranium, thorium), special nuclear material & byproduct material made radioactive • DOE – Department of Energy provides radiation protection standards for DOE activities • EPA – Environmental Protection Agency standards for nuclear power operations, management & disposal of spent fuel, high level & transuranic waste, uranium & thorium mill tailings

  7. Looking for guidance – continued - • OSHA – Occupational Safety & Health Administration applies to active uranium mine operations & milling or refining facilities • MSHA – Mine Safety & Health Administration applies to active underground uranium mines • Utah Division of Radiation Control regulates receipt, possession, use, transfer & disposal of radiation sources by a licensee • Other Agency or Group Health & Safety Plans

  8. Other Health & Safety Plans • University of Utah radiation safety policy manual • Health Physics and Instrumentation Monitoring Plan of the Navajo Nation AML Reclamation Department, Division of Natural Resources, Window Rock, Arizona

  9. Adopting Standards & Protocols • Use same general safety standards as non-uranium abandoned mines • Classify workers as “non-occupational” • Use NRC definitions & limits for public exposure • Use MSHA limits for radon exposure, respirators, and reporting requirements • Use quarterly TLD badges

  10. Paper Protocol-versus-Actual Protocol • AMRP staff unfamiliar with radiation • Construction contractors unfamiliar with radiation • Environmental cleanup contractors see protocol as too lenient

  11. Paper Protocol-versus-Actual Protocol • Required Health & Safety Training session before construction begins • No eating, drinking, chewing, smoking in exclusion zone (mine portal) • Starts strict, becomes less strict, then remind crew

  12. Exposures so far • TLD badges since 1997 (7 years) • Five separate, one time, individual, quarterly, deep tissue exposures ranging from 10 millirem to 30 millirem. • Chest X-ray 15-30 millirem

  13. Has it worked? • TLD badges show low exposures to AMRP staff • AMRP staff more educated about radiation • Contractors more educated about radiation • Other agency staff more educated • Exposures As Low As Reasonable Achievable (ALARA)

  14. Equipment used by Utah AMRP • Wm. B Johnson & Associates, Inc. Model GSM-360 Micro R Meter w/tissue equivalent probe (γ) [not in use now] • Ludlum Model 19 Micro R Meters (γ) • Thomson Nielsen Instant Radon Progeny Meter (α) • Global Dosimetry Solutions, Inc. type 14 TLD badge for whole body exposures (γ)

  15. Alpha & Gamma Meters

  16. Meters Need to Be Portable & Durable

  17. Radon Readings During Construction

  18. TLD Badges

  19. Problems so far • TLD badge accounting, billing • Getting workers to wear & keep track of TLD badges • Educating non-miner construction crew about radiation and radon • Natural ventilation affecting radon readings based on the time of day • Changing closure design to deal with high gamma or alpha radiation

  20. Swell Ending

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