Soil Cleanup Planning
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the people there were eating and drinking from more contaminated
coconuts than DOE hadcalculated, resulting in ten times the predicted
strontium and cesium intakes. Diet varied between individuals, and Mr.
McCraw was concerned that there was no cushion in the Enewetak dose
assessment for those individuals who ate more of the problem foods.
Dr. Wood noted that, in setting standards, his agency had to consider
individual dose as well as population dose. EPA wanted to assure that no
individual in a population became overexposed. There was a question
about whethera factor of two or three deviation from a given criteria could
be accepted unless it was known whether the overexposure would affect a
few individuals or 90 percent of the population. The Enewetak dose
assessment data did not indicate which.
In response to a DOE statement that transuranic soil cleanup decisions
should be based only on a northern island (Enjebi) residence lifestyle,
Field Command's health physicist, Dr. Bramlitt, pointed out that the
stringent EPA draft guidelines, the transuranic dose assessments, and the
Bair Committee recommendations necessarily required that soil cleanup
decisions be based on southern islands residence (i.e., the EIS Case 3
lifestyle). Mr. McCraw had shown in his briefing that a 40/80/160 living
pattern led to a dose to bone of 13 mrad/year, three to four times the
proposed EPA guideline for transuranics. Using Mr. McCraw’s data, Dr.
Bramlitt showed that the Case 3 cleanup (40/80/160) could produce
dosages over 6 mrad/year, twice the proposed EPA guidelines. Thus, if
soil cleanup decisions were not orientedfirst toward agricultural and foodgathering islands, the Case 3 lifestyle—the primary objective of the
cleanup—could be in jeopardy. Further, dose contributions from fission
products, strontium and cesium, could aggravate these calculations and
could preclude utilization of the northern islands as provided for in the
Case 3 lifestyle. As a result of the discussions, the Director, DNA asked
Dr. Bramlitt to conduct a study which would: consider all radionuclides
uffecting Case 3; evaluate Runit, for which no dose estimates had been
made; and, serve as an independent comparison of the LLL study. Results
of the study are discussed in chapter 7.
Mr. Mitchell, the people’s attorney, expressed concern at the
complexity and additional options shown in the dose assessment data. The
dri-Enewetak would require something less complicated, something that a
simple people could use to assist them in making decisions on the use of
the islands without exceeding established dose limits. It was decided that
the final dose assessment, to be prepared after cleanup was complete,
should include several possible living patterns. !05
There were several problems with residence on Enjebi. The strontium
and cesium levels were ten times higher here than on mostother islands
and would remain so for many years. A great amount of transuranic-