So is it a Marssim or Marsame survey?

[danthatguy]

Reading through different sites around it has made me doubt myself. I haven't performed one in 2 years. So which is it? Is it a Marssim survey or a Marsame survey?

[GLW]

Either or, they're 2 different things,...

[Rennhack]

http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/marssim/
The Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM) provides guidance to federal agencies, states, site owners, contractors, and other private entities on how to demonstrate that their site is in compliance with a radiation dose or risk-based regulation, otherwise known as a release criterion.

http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/marssim/marsame.html
Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Assessment of Materials and Equipment manual (MARSAME) is a supplement to the Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM). Like MARSSIM, MARSAME is a joint effort by the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy (DOE), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

Basically, MARSSIM is for SITE surveys, MARSAME is for Materials and Equipment surveys.


You didn't even ask about the Multi-Agency Radiological Laboratory Analytical Protocols Manual (MARLAP).
http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/marlap/links.html

[danthatguy]

Okay, that clears things up a bit. So all the labs that I surveyed would have fallen under Marssim. They both sound the same coming from a Tennesseean. As for Marlap, I don't think I have come across those at any point. Good info. Thanks. I'm green, what can I say?

[OldHP]

It would be so much easier to go back to 5849!

[Wojo]

It would be so much easier to go back to 5849!

BLASPHEMER!!!!!!!!

: And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou shalt establish the Holy Type I Error. Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt use for relative shift, and the number of the relative shift shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of MARSSIM towards thy foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall be statistically proven to be devoid of contamination at a level not in excess of 25 mrem/year plus the holy ALARA.     

[GLW]

BLASPHEMER!!!!!!!!

: And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou shalt establish the Holy Type I Error. Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt use for relative shift, and the number of the relative shift shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of MARSSIM towards thy foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall be statistically proven to be devoid of contamination at a level not in excess of 25 mrem/year plus the holy ALARA.     

yeah, yeah, yeah,...

it's a whole lot easier to tell production manager X and operations manager Y and services manager Z to clean it up to 5K on average with up to 15K here and there,...

as opposed to,...

well over here go to 23K, over there go to 11K and here and there go to 69K depending on my area factor,...

and then you get the look,.....

[Wojo]

and then you get the look,.....

The path of MARSSIM is beset on all sides by the inequities of the unknowing and the tyranny of construction managers.  Blessed is he who, in the name of compliance and good statistical power, shepherds the project manager through the valley of the sign test, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the creator of jobs for rad engineers.  And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my systematic sample populations.  And you will know that it is my FSS Package when I lay my DCGLemc upon you.

[SloGlo]

You didn't even ask about MARLAP

Yew are rite, I four got awl about her.  How's she dune? 

[Rennhack]

it's a whole lot easier to tell them to clean it up to 5K on average with up to 15K here and there,...

You can still tell them that.    In fact, its easier to not even mention the 15k, that confuses them even more.  Just tell them 1k smearable, 5k fixed.  And to make note of any spots above that, and I'll make it go away justify it in the paperwork.

Regardless of what is easier.. MARSSIM is here to stay.  And those of us that understand it will enjoy a paycheck.

[tntplayer]

BLASPHEMER!!!!!!!!

: And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou shalt establish the Holy Type I Error. Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt use for relative shift, and the number of the relative shift shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of MARSSIM towards thy foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall be statistically proven to be devoid of contamination at a level not in excess of 25 mrem/year plus the holy ALARA.     

This is the funniest thing that I can remember reading on this site...long live Monty Python...

[stirfry]

It would be so much easier to go back to 5849!

I agree with OldHP.  5849 was much easier to follow and guide workers with. KISS =  Keep It Simple Stupid.

[Duke]

Yes, 5849 was easier to follow and understand- I also agree with OldHP!

[Wojo]

I can't wait to see everybody's heads explode when the NRC finally sh**cans Reg Guide 1.86 and switches over to a risk-based release criteria for materials based upon an all pathway TEDE of 1 mrem/yr to an average member of the critical group.  It's coming people, quicker that some would think.

[atomicarcheologist]

I can't wait to see everybody's heads explode when the NRC finally shitcans Reg Guide 1.86 and switches over to a risk-based release criteria for materials based upon an all pathway TEDE of 1 mrem/yr to an average member of the critical group.  It's coming people, quicker that some would think.

They could go with a risk-based release criteria for occupational group, residence group, and farmer John group.  Simple numbers for simple use. 

[Marlin]

I can't wait to see everybody's heads explode when the NRC finally shitcans Reg Guide 1.86 and switches over to a risk-based release criteria for materials based upon an all pathway TEDE of 1 mrem/yr to an average member of the critical group.  It's coming people, quicker that some would think.

How would that work for transportation releasing railcars etc., I think 1.86 is safe in non facility release criteria.

just my opinion I have no other basis for it.

[Wojo]

How would that work for transportation releasing railcars etc., I think 1.86 is safe in non facility release criteria.

Technically, you would use the MARSAME guidance to derive a material specific release criteria based upon the material disposition, post use scenarios, who makes up the AMCG, etc.  Realistically, what is probably going to happen is that licensees will model a bunch of conservative release criterion based on their frequent waste streams and apply them via a SOP.  So let's speculate that your rail cars are carrying excavated soils and the disposition is disposal, you would model that, derive a conservative pathway scenario, come up with a volumetric criteria for the soils and a surface criteria for the cars and then apply them across the board.  You would then come up with a SOP for surveys that would demonstrate compliance using the statistical survey designs presented in MARSAME.

[Marlin]

Technically, you would use the MARSAME guidance to derive a material specific release criteria based upon the material disposition, post use scenarios, who makes up the AMCG, etc.  Realistically, what is probably going to happen is that licensees will model a bunch of conservative release criterion based on their frequent waste streams and apply them via a SOP.  So let's speculate that your rail cars are carrying excavated soils and the disposition is disposal, you would model that, derive a conservative pathway scenario, come up with a volumetric criteria for the soils and a surface criteria for the cars and then apply them across the board.  You would then come up with a SOP for surveys that would demonstrate compliance using the statistical survey designs presented in MARSAME.

   You may be right but that responsibility can be carried by a very small business with limited resources. Known isotopes and a frisker would be much cheaper. I have found myself on a hard money contract where the project manager did not realize we where responsible for the clearance of leased cars introducing the cost of HP manpower. Not much of an issue for $500K plus contracts but it starts to make a dent in lower end hard money contracts.

I know!!! Where is the job security for all of our MARSSIM experts??? 

[Wojo]

  I know!!! Where is the job security for all of our MARSSIM experts???

Cha-Ching Baby   

[GLW]

How would that work for transportation releasing railcars etc., I think 1.86 is safe in non facility release criteria.

just my opinion I have no other basis for it.

1.86 (circa 1974) soldiers on in the face of ANSI 13.12 (circa 1999) and the 1 mrem/yr dose standard because audible clicks mean so much more to the discerning public than a SOP for surveys that demonstrate compliance using the statistical survey designs presented in a MARSAME dose based TBD's,...

especially when 12,000 clicks of isotope A is ok, but 3,000 clicks of isotope B are not,....

commercially;

those working under general licenses or otherwise will go with 49CFR and agreement state regs to send 'em,...

specific licensees will have larger staffs to implement all that fun stuff previously described,...

it'll open a lot of jobs that nobody is going to believe are needed,...

especially when statistically released stuff starts setting off the monitors at smelters, salvage yards and waste recyclers, et al and the pat answer comes back along the lines of being regulatory compliant and approved procedures,...

Yucca Mountain was regulatory compliant with approved procedures,...

the cops can pick up the dose from your stress test as you drive along in your car these days,...

folks already have it in their heads that medical dose is good dose and power plant dose is bad dose,...

statistically based free release and lead balloons,... yeah, I'm seeing the analogy,....

[Marlin]

1.86 (circa 1974) soldiers on in the face of ANSI 13.12 (circa 1999) and the 1 mrem/yr dose standard because audible clicks mean so much more to the discerning public than a SOP for surveys that demonstrate compliance using the statistical survey designs presented in a MARSAME dose based TBD's,...

especially when 12,000 clicks of isotope A is ok, but 3,000 clicks of isotope B are not,....

commercially;

those working under general licenses or otherwise will go with 49CFR and agreement state regs to send 'em,...

specific licensees will have larger staffs to implement all that fun stuff previously described,..
it'll open a lot of jobs that nobody is going to believe are needed,...

especially when statistically released stuff starts setting off the monitors at smelters, salvage yards and waste recyclers, et al and the pat answer comes back along the lines of being regulatory compliant and approved procedures,...

Yucca Mountain was regulatory compliant with approved procedures,...

the cops can pick up the dose from your stress test as you drive along in your car these days,...

folks already have it in their heads that medical dose is good dose and power plant dose is bad dose,...

statistically based free release and lead balloons,... yeah, I'm seeing the analogy,....

No analogy intended, just a comment that 1.86 will still be useful under some circumstances.

Coexist