UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
                                    WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460


                                        February 27, 2003
                                                               OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR
                                                                SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD

EPA-SAB-RAC-CON-03-002

Honorable Christine Todd Whitman
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460

       Subject:      Consultation on Multi-Agency Radiation Site Survey Investigation
                   Manual (MARSSIM) Supplements for Materials & Equipment
                   (MARSAME): A Science Advisory Board Notification of a Consultation

Dear Governor Whitman:

       The Radiation Advisory Committee (RAC) of the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB)
met on February 25-27, 2003 to conduct a consultation with staff from the Environmental
Protection Agency's Office of Radiation  and Indoor Air (ORIA), and the federal MARSSIM
Work Group, comprised of members of the federal U.S. EPA, U.S. DOE, DOD, and the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (U.S. NRC) to review the progress to date and future plans for creating
a technical manual for the MARSSIM Supplement for Materials & Equipment (MARSAME).  It
is important to note that the federal MARSSIM Work Group came back to the SAB's RAC for
this consultation as a follow-up to suggestions made by the SAB's RAC in a review of
MARSSIM in 1997 (See EPA-SAB-RAC-97-008, dated September 30, 1997).

       The SAB has developed the Consultation as a mechanism to advise the Agency on
technical issues that should be considered in the development of regulations, guidelines, or
technical guidance before the Agency has taken a position. A Consultation is conducted under
the normal requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which include advance notice
of the public meeting in the Federal Register.

       As is our customary practice, there will be no formal report from the SAB as a result of
this Consultation, nor do we expect any formal response from the Agency. However, the
Committee looks forward to a full peer review of this MARSSIM supplement (MARSAME) as a
separate subject matter from this exercise when the federal MARSSIM Work Group is ready
with their written draft within a year or so.

                                Sincerely,

       /Signed/                               /Signed/


Dr. William Glaze, Chair                Dr. Janet A. Johnson, Chair
EPA Science Advisory Board            Radiation Advisory Committee
                                      EPA Science Advisory Board

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                                      NOTICE
       This report has been written as part of the activities of the EPA Science Advisory Board,
a public advisory group providing extramural scientific information and advice to the
Administrator and other officials of the Environmental Protection Agency. The Board is
structured to provide balanced, expert assessment of scientific matters related to problems facing
the Agency. This report has not been reviewed for approval by the Agency and, hence, the
contents of this report do not necessarily represent the views and policies of the Environmental
Protection Agency, nor of other agencies in the Executive Branch of the Federal government, nor
does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute a recommendation for use.
Distribution and Availability: This EPA Science Advisory Board report is provided to the EPA
Administrator, senior Agency management, appropriate program staff, interested members of the
public, and is posted on the SAB website (www.epa.gov/sab). Information on its availability is
also provided in the SAB's monthly newsletter (Happenings at the Science Advisory Board).
Additional copies and further information are available from the SAB Staff [US EPA Science
Advisory Board (1400A), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001; 202-
564-4533].

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                     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                             Science Advisory Board
                          Radiation Advisory Committee

CHAIR
Dr. Janet A. Johnson, Senior Technical Advisor, MFG, Inc., Fort Collins, CO
      Also Member: Executive Committee

SAB MEMBERS
Dr. Lynn Anspaugh, Research Professor, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

Dr. Bruce Boecker, Scientist Emeritus, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque,
      NM

Dr. Gilles Bussod, President, Science Network International, Inc., Santa Fe, NM

Dr. Helen Ann Grogan, President, Cascade Scientific, Inc., Bend, OR

Dr. Richard W. Hornung1, Director, Division of Biostatistical Research, IHPHSR, University
      of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

Dr. Jill Lipoti, Assistant Director, Environmental Safety, Health and Analytical Programs,
      Radiation Protection Program, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection,
      Trenton, NJ

Dr. Genevieve Roessler, Professor Emeritus and Radiation Consultant, Elysian, MN

Dr. Richard J. Vetter, Head, Radiation Safety Program, Mayo Medical School, Mayo Clinic,
      Rochester, MN

SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD STAFF
Dr. K. Jack Kooyoomjian, Designated Federal Officer

Ms. Betty Fortune, Office Assistant
       1      Dr. Hornung was unable to participate in this consultation, due to a schedule conflict.

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                     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                             Science Advisory Board
                              Executive Committee

CHAIR
Dr. William H. Glaze, Professor , Department of Environmental & Biomolecular Systems , OGI
       School of Science & Engineering, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton, OR

MEMBERS
Dr. Henry Anderson, Chief Medical Officer, Division of Public Health, Wisconsin Division of
       Public Health, Madison, WI
       Also Member: Environmental Health Committee

Dr. Trudy Cameron, Raymond F. Mikesell Professor of Environmental and Resource
       Economics, Department of Economics, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
       Also Member: Advisory Council on Clean Air Compliance Analysis

Dr. Maureen L. Cropper, Lead Economist, The World Bank, Washington, DC
       Also Member: Environmental Economics Advisory Committee

Dr. Kenneth Cummins, Senior Advisory Scientist, California Cooperative Fishery Research
       Unit, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA

Dr. Virginia Dale, Corporate Fellow, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National
       Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN
       Also Member: Ecological Processes and Effects Committee

Dr. Domenico Grasso, Rosemary Bradford Hewlett Professor and Chair, Picker Engineering
       Program, Smith College, Northampton, MA
       Also Member: Environmental Engineering Committee

Dr. Linda Greer, Senior Scientist, Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, DC
       Also Member: Research Strategies Advisory Committee

Dr. Philip Hopke, Bayard D. Clarkson Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemical
       Engineering, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY
       Also Member: Research Strategies Advisory Committee
                   Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee

Dr. Janet A. Johnson, Senior Technical Advisor, MFG, Inc., Fort Collins, CO
       Also Member: Radiation Advisory Committee

Dr. Roger E. Kasperson, Executive Director, Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm,,
       Sweden
       Also Member: Research Strategies Advisory Committee

Dr. Raymond C. Loehr, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Texas ,
       Austin, TX
                                         in

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Dr. Genevieve Matanoski, Professor , Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University,
      Baltimore, MD
      Also Member: Research Strategies Advisory Committee

Dr. M. Granger Morgan, Head, Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie
      Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

Dr. Rebecca Parkin, Associate Research Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health,
      Public Health and Health Services, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
      Also Member: Integrated Human Exposure Committee

Dr. William H. Smith, Clifton R. Musser Professor Emeritus of Forest Biology, Yale
      University, Center Harbor, NH

Dr. R. Rhodes Trussell,  Senior Vice President, MWH-Montgomery Watson Harza, Pasadena,
      CA
      Also Member: Drinking Water Committee

LIAISONS
Dr. Jerald Schnoor, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University
      of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
      Liaison from the EPA Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC)

SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD STAFF
Mr. A. Robert Flaak, Designated Federal Officer

Ms Betty Fortune, Office Assistant

Ms. Diana Pozun, Program Specialist
                                         IV

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