I need a Plutonium guru.....

[Dave Warren]

A friend of mine is looking for the release limits for Plutonium from a DOE facility.

Who knows the best place to look for reference and answers?

[moondoggie]

10 CFR 835 Appendix D, or DOE-STD-1098, table 2-2. Either way, the limits are:

20 dpm/100cm2 removable
500 dpm/100cm2 total

[Dave Warren]

Thanks for the help.

They told me the wrong thing. They want to know what the exposure limits are, not the release limits.

[PAULTHEVOL]

Dave,
Exposure limits are the same,but of course when dealing with plutonium,the controls to minimize the exposures are much different than they are when dealing with less risky nuclide's.
It also depends of what form of contamination your dealing with.When I was at the 903 pad at RF,we we re mediating soil down to 60 pCi/gr.
The material we were dealing with had very high enrichment characteristics up to 8.5 to 1,but since we were dealing with contaminated soil, a large movable containment over the excavation controlled our area very well.(Along with misting techniques)
Bldg 559 was a different matter.We were disassembling glove boxes that were contaminated with large amounts of oxide.You cant use misting techniques because CSOL's usually will not let you introduce a moderator to the material(depending on gram estimates and geometry of your area),you will usually rely on bag outs,very careful RCT's,  and a good Rad engineer to design ventilation for your work containments,to minimize workers exposure's but it can be very difficult.
I swear,the s#$% has legs and regardless of your controls,seems to get away from you.
Give me a call and let me know more specifically your situation , and ,I can probably give you some good ideas.

Edited for language

[BetaAnt]

Try this EPA program. The DOE is referring to the EPA for cleanup standards and risk.

http://www.epa.gov/radiation/assessment/index.html

ITRC also has a few courses on EPA radionuclide cleanup. And IT'S FREE!!!!!!!

http://www.itrcweb.org/teamresources_11.asp

Good luck on your studies.

BA

[mostlyharmless]

I have worked with Pu239 and PuO2 for about 10 years now.My experience with 238 is limited but I can tell you 238 is a very diferent thing to cover. I currently work at what was once the last Pu factory in the country, if you have specific questions I can answer them or get the answers for you.  With Pu its not the rate but the air sampling and the form its in and the moisture content of the air. A little goes a long way. 20/200 are the contamination limits(pretty much no detectable) rate limits are the same everywhere though admin varies.239 if dry goes were the wind takes it. 238 goes were it wants.

[HydroDave63]

It also depends of what form of contamination your dealing with.When I was at the 903 pad at RF,we we re mediating soil down to 60 pCi/gr.

Except when the front-end loader was below **** feet deep (don't gotta go that deep per the contract, dude!  ) regardless of the bubbling crude and gamma shine ....

[sunpaw]

If you are asking what the exposure limit is for plutonium, its all relative to DAC or ALI's. with plutonium its a matter of alpha uptake rather than gamma exposure. The limits are identified in 10 CFR 835 as stated by another and your facility should have its own Administrative Control Limits.

If you want to know how it acts and how to decon, that is another discussion as stated by another, its all dependent on what form its in, how much and where its at.