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Officeof Radiation
andIndoor
Air(6603J)
Officeof SolidWasteand
Emergency
Response
(5101)
UnitedStates
EnvironmentalProtection
Agency
Fact
Sheet:
Used
to
Decision
and
Computer
Support
Models
Cleanup
Making
Radioactive
9355.0-50FS
EPA/540/F-94-022
PB94-963306
January1996
at
Waste
Hazardous
Sites
QuickReferenceFactSheet
and technicalinformation on the extent and type
of modeling efforts being conducted by EPA,
DOE, and NRC at hazardous and radioactive
wastesites,and to identify a point of contactfor
further followup.
BACKGROUND
Mathematicalmodelsthat characterizethe source,
transport,fate,and effectsof hazardousand radioactivematerialsareusedto help determinecleanup
priorities and selectremedialoptionsat sitescontaminatedwith radioactivematerials.
Contents of Report
Thereport includesan introduction,descriptionof
A joint InteragencyEnvironmentalPathwayModthesurveyandmodelclassificationscheme,survey
eling Working Group hasbeenestablishedby the
results,conclusions,and references.Theappendix
EPA Officesof Radiationand Indoor Air (ORIA)
contains
for themodels
and SolidWaste and Emergency Response (OSWER), descriptionsand references
reported
in
the
survey.
the DOEOfficeof EnvironmentalRestorationand
WasteManagement(EM),and theNuclearRegulaThe raw data from the questionnairearecompiled
tory Commission(NRC)Officeof NuclearMaterial
in tables.Table1liststhenamesof therespondents,
SafetyandSafeguards(NMSS).Thepurposeof the
their organizations,addresses,
phonenumbers,and
WorkingGroup is to promotethe appropriateand
models
used.
Table
2
provides
an
alphabeticallist of
consistentuseof mathematical environmental
modmodels,
model
types,
and
references.
Table 3 inelsin the remediationand restorationof sitesconcludes
the
model,
site
type,
contaminant,
endpoint,
taminatedby radioactivesubstances.
level-of-effort,validation(yes/no),andpublication
information.Table4 summarizestheorganizations
TheWorkingGrouphaspublishedreportsintended that sponsoreddevelopmentof the reportedmodto beusedby technicalstaffresponsiblefor identifyels. Table5 providesan index of existingenvironing andimplementingflow andtransportmodelsto
mentalpathwaymodels.
supportcleanupdecisionsat hazardousand radio
activewastesites.Thisfactsheetis oneof a seriesof
Method
fact sheetsthat summarizethe Working Group’s Questionnaires
werewidely distributedto approxireports.
mately 550 personswithin the three sponsoring
agencies,national laboratories,universities,and
REPORT
consultingengineeringfirms.
Purpose
The EPA, DOE, and NRC joint program sponThereportpresentsadatabaseof usermodel/inforsoreda mail survey in 1990and 1991to identify
mationpertainingto eachmodel,including:
radiologic and nonradiologic environmental
transfer or pathway computer models that have
l Sitetype
beenusedor arebeing usedto support cleanupof
l Sponsoringagency
hazardousand radioactivewastesites.Theintent
l Media/category
of the survey was to gather basicadministrative
l Levelof effort
1
food chain,soil) into onesimulation. Respondents
reportedusing34differentground-watertransport
models,20air models(which sometimesincluded
related soil deposition and agricultural uptake
parameters),and 19 engineeringmodels, which
included performanceassessment,
accident,and
radiation dose models.
Seven surface
water transport
and five geochemicalmodelsalso were reported.
Thegeochemicalmodelswereoftenusedto predict
the relativeabundanceor concentrationof various
contaminant species, to determine whether a
dissolvedpollutantwill precipitateduringtransport
in surfaceor groundwater,or to determinewhether
a solid pollutant might dissolve under certain
aqueousconditions.
Validation/calibration
End points
Publications
Findings
Eighty-sevenpersonsrespondedto thesurvey,rep
resentinga responserateof 16percent.Individuals
respondedfrom 38 different companies,facilities,
or agencies. The respondentswere responsible
primarily for DOEsites. More than 75percentof
the reported site types were DOE-related.
Respondents
reportedusing127differentcomputer
models. Most were developedby or for the EPA,
DOE,or NRC,but asubstantialnumber(24percent)
were sponsoredby other groups such as private
corporations,universities,and other government
agencies.Theoverwhelmingmajorityof modelsare
beingusedfor the moregeneralpurposeof finding
environmentalconcentrationsof contaminantsand
radondosecommitments.Someotherusesinclude
risk assessment,water levels, flow rates,riprap
sizing,and radonemanation.
Basedon a compilation of known environmental
pathwaymodels(extrapolatedfrom the published
literatureand reviews)the modelsreportedin the
surveyrepresentapproximately25percentof known
modelsusedin environmentalpathway analyses.
Whetherthe modelsnot identified in the survey
are actually being usedto support cleanupdecisionscould not be answereddue to the relatively
small number of respondents.The report recognizesthe dynamic nature of model development
and application.
The reported models were classified by the
environmentalmedia they simulate and by their
majorpurpose(seetableon page3). Modelsrelated
to multi-media environmental pathways constituted
Approximately60percentof the identified models
thelargestcategoryof modelsin useby respondents in thesurveywereusedat only onesite. Only a few
with 41 models reported. Multi-media models modelsappearedto be usedacrossa largenumber
integrateseveralmedia (e.g.,air, ground water, of sites.
2
Models in Use Identified
in Survey
.
I-w
.
.
-A
.
20 I-r)\
3
.
.
.
.
Superfund Hotline
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
401 M Street, SW (5203G)
Washington, DC 20460
(800) 424-9346
CONTACTS
If you have any questions or want a copy of this or
other reports, contact:
Beverly Irla, Project Manager
Office of Radiation and Indoor Air (6603J)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
401 M Street, SW
Washington, DC 20460
(202) 23393%
REPORTS
Computer Models Used to Support Cleanup DecisionMaking at Hazardousand Radiauctti WasteSites,EPA
402-R-93-05, March 1993. Also available from the
NationaJTechnical Information Center (NTIS), (703)
4874650, PB93-lf#333/XAB.
Paul Beam
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Environmental Restoration
EM-451 /CLOV BLDG
19901 Germantown Road
Germantown, MD 208741290
(301) 903-8133
Environmental Characteristics#EPA, NRC, and DOE
Sites Contaminated with Radiaactive Substances,EPA
402-R-93-011,March 1993. NTfS, PB93-lt35551/XAB.
Environmental Pathway Models - Ground-Water
Modelling in Support of Remedial Decision-Making at
SitesContaminatedwith Radbutive Matekl, EPA 402R-m,
March 1993. NTIS, PB93196657/XAB.
Sam Nalluswami
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and safeguards
(T-m
Washington, DC 20555
(301) 415-6694
Technical Guide to Ground-Water Model Selection at
Sites Contaminated with Radioactive Substances,EPA
402-R-94-012,September 1994.NTIS, PB94-205804/
XAB.
4