Success Stories

Health Physics Projects

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ORAU Performs Beryllium Contamination Assessment for Building 9201-2 at Y-12 National Security Complex

ORAU assessed Oak Ridge National Laboratory's (ORNL) compliance with 10 CFR 850, Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program (CBDPP), at Building 9201-2, which is managed by ORNL and located at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

ORAU Assists NRC Regulatory Guide Update Program

ORAU provided technical assistance to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) with revisions to regulatory guides included in phase three of the its Regulatory Guide Update Program.

Popular COMPASS Software Upgraded

Version 1.1 is now available to facilitate the use of Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM) and to guide users into making informed decisions in designing final status radiological surveys.

ORAU Develops Derived Concentration Guideline Levels (DCGLs) for Defense National Stockpile Center

ORAU developed cleanup levels for soil and surface contamination, called DCGLs, that satisfied the NRC's dose-based release requirements for license termination at the Defense National Stockpile Center's Curtis Bay (Md.) and Hammond (Ind.) Depots.

ORAU Evaluates Effectiveness of In Situ Gamma Spectrometry as Final Status Survey Tool

ORAU's experts looked at the effectiveness of the In Situ Object Counting System (ISOCS) in achieving stated data quality objectives to support releasing facility excavations and open land areas.

ORAU Prepares Technical Evaluation Reports for NRC

ORAU prepared three technical evaluation reports in support of licensing reviews for the decommissioning of research and test reactors. These reviews verified that all applicable license requirements were appropriately implemented during D&D activities.

ORAU Assesses Radiological Doses from Radium-Dial Timepieces

ORAU performed dose modeling to determine whether proposed regulations on radium timepieces would adequately protect the public from any associated health and safety risks.

ORAU Delivers Training in Support of Homeland Security Initiatives

While ORAU has conducted laboratory-based health physics training for approximately 60 years, special emphasis training has also been conducted worldwide to support homeland security and international radiological threat reduction.

ORAU Resolves Conflicting Dose Assessments for Vermont Department of Health

ORAU's health physicists worked to determine how and why officials at Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station and the state recorded conflicting radiation measurements at the plant's fence line.

ORAU Helps to Put Surplus Radiological Detection Equipment in Emergency Responders Hands Nationwide

Through the cooperative efforts of the Homeland Defense Equipment Reuse (HDER) Program, ORAU employees have been instrumental in getting the U.S. Department of Energy's surplus radiation detection equipment assembled, evaluated and delivered to first responders across the nation.

ORAU Instrumental in Development of ANSI N42.37

ORAU was a key player in the development of a standard for training law enforcement, private sector security personnel, members of the U.S. Postal Service, and private shippers in radiation detection and related equipment.