ENVIRONMENTAL  RADIATION
                  AND THE
                R
MONITORING
       U. S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
          OFFICE OF RADIATION PROGRAMS

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FOREWORD
     On July 1,  1973, the Environmental Protection Agency, through its Office of Radiation Programs
(ORP), implemented a new system for monitoring national levels of radioactivity in the environment. This
system, the  Environmental Radiation  Ambient Monitoring System (ERAMS), constitutes the  Office of
Radiation Programs' major source of national environmental radiation data acquisition and analysis.

     This pamphlet describes the ERAMS and its relationship to the overall Office of Radiation Programs
effort in the area of environmental radiation monitoring. The material contained herein is intended as
information for the general public, but is not intended to describe the total ORP effort within  EPA. In a
few cases subject matter is presented in general rather than technical terms to preserve maximum public
acceptance.

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ENVIRONMENTAL  RADIATION  MONITORING


Q:        What is environmental radiation monitoring?


A:        Environmental radiation  monitoring is the collection of data and the conversion of these
     data to  information about the  levels of radiation in the  environment. The Office of Radiation
     Programs (ORP) is interested in the levels of radioactivity  in the environment for the purpose of
     estimating radiation dose to the population and determining increases and decreases in levels of
     environmental radioactivity. In other words, monitoring serves to tell us where the radiation is, where
     it comes from, how much is in the environment, and what the dose to man is from a particular
     radiation source.


Q:        What do you mean by radiation dose?


A:        When people are exposed to radiation  some of the radiation is absorbed within the body.
     The measure of the radiation absorbed is called  radiation dose.

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Radioactivity from many sources is present in man's environment; in the air, water, soil, vegetation, and
food.

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                 ENVIRONMENTAL RADIATION AMBIENT  MONITORING SYSTEM
Q:         Why are we concerned with the  radiation  dose to the population?


A:         Scientists have for many years studied the effects of radiation on  man. These scientists
     consider that any addition of radiation dose to man could be harmful under certain circumstances.


Qi         How is the U. S. population  exposed to  radiation?


A:         Man's largest source of radiation exposure is called "natural background" and is comprised
     mainly of cosmic radiation from space and  naturally occurring radioactivity present in common
     minerals and building materials. Man has always lived with somewhat uniform natural background
     radiation levels, except that it varies for different geographic areas.

     Other sources of radiation exposure to the population include medical x-rays, medical radioisotopes,
     miscellaneous industrial processes, nuclear power  generation, "fallout" from nuclear detonations
     and other sources.

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In some cases, environmental  radiation reaches man directly. In other cases the exposure routes are
indirect, such as the pasture-cow-man pathway.

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                ENVIRONMENTAL  RADIATION AMBIENT MONITORING  SYSTEM
Q:        Why does ORP conduct environmental radiation  monitoring?


A:        Environmental  radiation  monitoring is  used to guide the development  and enforcement
     of EPA general environmental radiation protection standards. After a program has been initiated the
     information from environmental radiation monitoring is used by the Office of Radiation Programs
     to determine how successful its program is for controlling and reducing unnecessary radiation dose
     to man. This is done in support of the ORP mission to assess and control the radiation dose to man.
     This mission is carried out by establishing generally applicable radiation protection standards that
     are directed towards  the control of specific sources which release radioactive material into the
     environment.

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Samples are taken of  environmental  media to determine the extent  to which man's environment is
contaminated with radioactivity.

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                ENVIRONMENTAL RADIATION AMBIENT MONITORING SYSTEM
Q'.        Who  makes measurements of environmental radiation?


A:        Operators of facilities which  release radioactive  materials to the environment measure
     the amount of these materials which are released and report this information to State and Federal
     agencies as  required. For example, operating power reactors provide release data to the Atomic
     Energy Commission; this in turn is provided to the Office of Radiation Programs.

     Also, many State and Federal agencies make environmental radiation measurements to meet their
     own regulatory needs. The Office of Radiation Programs makes those environmental radiation
     measurements that are needed to provide the information required for developing and conducting
     programs to control and reduce radiation dose to man. One program operated by the Office of
     Radiation Programs is designated as ERAMS.

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frequency of analysis, and the types of analyses which are performed.

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                ENVIRONMENTAL RADIATION  AMBIENT MONITORING  SYSTEM
Q:        What is ERAMS?

A;        ERAMS stands for Environmental Radiation Ambient Monitoring System and refers to a
     nationwide program designed to acquire data that is used to provide information about radioactivity
     in our environment.


Q:        By radioactivity, do you mean fallout?

A:        No,  the term "fallout" refers to radioactivity  returning to  earth from  the atmosphere
     following detonation of a nuclear device. Such detonations above ground were suspended by the
     United States  and the USSR in 1963, and measurements by several radiation measurement net-
     works have shown us that environmental levels of "fallout" radioactivity are very low today, and are
     declining.

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11
                OCEMS DEEF STUTI OOMS SWF«C( W«TUS
                                     ESTUUME ECOSYSTEM



         Illustration of how radiation reaches man through various environmental pathways from a source.

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                 ENVIRONMENTAL RADIATION AMBIENT MONITORING SYSTEM
Q'         Does that mean that we are no longer interested in fallout?

A:         No, not at all. All the ERAMS really does is to redirect the major emphasis of our environ-
     mental  radiation  monitoring effort towards new sources of environmental radiation. In fact our
     present fallout monitoring capabilities will be maintained but at a reduced level. The environmental
     monitoring activity will correspond to the decreasing environmental significance of global fallout
     from those countries still engaged in above-ground testing of nuclear devices.


Q:         How does the ERAMS monitor our environment for radioactivity?

A:         Briefly stated,  environmental samples of air,  water, milk, food, and soil are collected  at
     controlled intervals at designated sampling stations and sent to facilities of the Office of Radiation
     Programs for radioactivity analysis. These sampling  media are pathways by which radioactivity
     reaches man.

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13
         The ERAMS will help determine what impact nuclear reactors like this one will have on the environment.

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                 ENVIRONMENTAL RADIATION  AMBIENT  MONITORING SYSTEM
Q*.         Are the  results from the  ERAMS available to the public?

A:         The data resulting from the ERAMS are  recorded, statistically analyzed, and published
     in appropriate  publications, principally the Office of Radiation Programs' Radiation Qala and
     Reports.


Ql         What is Radiation Qala and Reports?

A."         Radiation Qala and Reports is a monthly publication of the Office of Radiation Programs
     in which data and information concerning environmental levels of radiation are presented.

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15
         Water samples are collected from untreated as well as drinking water sources to be analyzed for types
         and amounts of radioactivity present.

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                 ENVIRONMENTAL RADIATION AMBIENT MONITORING SYSTEM




Ql         How  does the  ERAMS differ from previous radiation networks?

Al         In two aspects. First, the ERAMS  in a unified  system built upon components of previous
     radiation networks whose direction and productivity was divided among several Federal agencies
     and groups. Secondly, the ERAMS has been designed to be oriented both to the source  and to the
     population.


Ql         What do  you mean by "source" and  "population" orientation?

A:         There are two basic structures available to environmental monitoring, both of which deal
     with the geographical location of monitoring or sample collection sites.

     Monitoring stations located  in or near  the  major population centers yield information about
     environmental pollutants reaching the population irrespective of the source of that pollutant, while
     monitoring stations located near pollutant sources indicate the types and amounts of  pollutants
     introduced into the environment from these sources.

     The ERAMS is designed to be a compromise between the two basic monitoring structures. In other
     words, the monitoring stations of the ERAMS have been chosen to  provide optimum source and
     population coverage.

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17
         Air sampling equipment like this is used throughout the United States to monitor the air for environmental
         radioactivity.

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                ENVIRONMENTAL RADIATION  AMBIENT MONITORING  SYSTEM
Qt         What radiation sources will the ERAMS  monitor?

A;         The ERAMS  has been designed  to  monitor the major sources of environmental  radio-
     activity. The major current emphasis is directed toward components of the nuclear fuel cycle, such
     as nuclear power plants and nuclear fuel fabrication and reprocessing plants.

     In addition,  the  ERAMS is flexible enough  to provide information concerning other sources of
     environmental radioactivity such as isotopes used in medicine and in industrial applications.

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         Milk samples are also collected and analyzed in the laboratory.

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                ENVIRONMENTAL  RADIATION AMBIENT MONITORING  SYSTEM
Ql         Does the Office of Radiation Programs have monitoring programs other than the ERAMS?

A:         Yes, the Office of Radiation Programs conducts in-depth field studies at selected radiation
     sources to obtain detailed information concerning levels of radioactivity released to the environ-
     ment, modes of environmental dispersion, and the potential exposure of population groups. These
     studies require months of planning and in some cases years to conduct. The findings of these studies
     are usually published in the form of technical reports which are used by professionals for protecting
     public health.
Ql         Is it always necessary to measure how much radiation is in the environment to estimate
     what man's dose is?

A:         No,  mathematical dose models are being developed which utilize source release data and
     environmental conditions to estimate population exposures from radiation sources. Actual environ-
     mental data are necessary, however, for the development of the dose models and for verifying their
     results.

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21
        This boat has been specially designed for collecting samples as part of a special study concerning reactor
        environments.  Here  a dredge  is  being used  to obtain sediment  samples  from a  cooling-water
        impoundment.

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                 ENVIRONMENTAL RADIATION AMBIENT MONITORING  SYSTEM
Ql         How will ERAMS data specifically contribute to the Office of Radiation Programs mission
     of radiation exposure control?

A:         Specifically, the ERAMS is designed:

     1.     to provide data on levels of radioactive pollutants for standard-setting activities, verification
     that standards are being met, for evaluation of the effectiveness of controls, and for determining
     environmental trends,

     2.     to provide a direct assessment of the  population intake of radioactive pollutants,

     3.     to provide data for developing a set of dose computational models for specific sources and
     a national dose computational model to aggregate all sources and determine total population dose,

     4.     to monitor pathways for significant population exposure from routine and accidental releases
     of radioactivity from major sources,

     5.     to provide data which will be used in  the event of an accidental release  of radioactivity to
     the environment for indicating additional sampling needs and other actions required to insure public
     safety.

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                                                                                                       '
         Very sensitive and complex  instrumentation is used to detect and measure the radiations emitted by
         environmental samples.

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                ENVIRONMENTAL  RADIATION AMBIENT MONITORING SYSTEM
Q!         You mentioned that  facility operators, state agencies and  others are also involved in
     radiation monitoring. Does the Office of Radiation Programs provide guidance or assistance to these
     people?

A:         Yes, guidance and assistance in radiation monitoring are available to anyone who requires
     it. ORP has, for example, developed an  Environmental Radioactivity Surveillance Guide which
     recommends the minimum level of environmental radiation monitoring that should be conducted
     around light-water-cooled nuclear power reactors. Also, through our radiation laboratories, ORP pro-
     vides assistance to  states,  universities  and  other Federal  agencies for  analyzing samples to
     determine what the radiation levels are, and guidance on the proper procedures to be used when
     collecting and analyzing these samples.

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         In its fullest implementation, the ERAMS will monitor man's environment for radioactivity from many
         sources, including nuclear reactors with their associated processing and fabrication components, and
         radioactivity reaching the environment from medical uses.

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    For further information concerning Environmental Radiation Monitoring or the ERAMS write:
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
    Office of Radiation Programs
    Waterside Mall East
    401  M Street, S.W.
    Washington, D.C. 20460
         I
or:
    Office of Radiation Programs
    Eastern  Environmental Radiation Facility
    P. O Box 3009
    Montgomery, Alabama 36109
    Office of Radiation Programs
    National Environmental Research
    P. O. Box 15027
    Las Vegas,  Nevada  89114
             Ce'
•U.S. COVEBWEHT PRINTIHG OFFICE: 1974-M3-904/N.P.

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