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                   UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
                                   WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
                                  February 9, 2004
                                                             OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR
                                                             EPA SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD
EPA-SAB-RAC-CON-04-001

The Honorable Michael O. Leavitt
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460

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

Dear Administrator Leavitt:

       The Radiation Advisory Committee (RAC) of the Environmental Protection Agency's
(EPA) Science Advisory Board (SAB) met on October 21 and 22, 2003 to conduct a second
consultation with staff from the EPA's Office of Radiation and Indoor Air (ORIA), and the
Federal MARSSIM Work Group, comprised of members of the U.S. EPA, Department of
Energy, Department of Defense, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 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). We conducted the first consultation on this topic on February 25-27, 2003,
resulting in a notification of a consultation (EPA-SAB-RAC-CON-03-002) dated February 27,
2003.

       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

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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). 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. Hornung, 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. Vetter1, Head, Radiation Safety Program, Mayo Medical School, Mayo Clinic,
      Rochester, MN

SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD STAFF
Dr. K. Jack Kooyoomjian, Designated Federal Officer, EPA Science Advisory Board (1400A),
      1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20460
       1      Dr. Vetter was unable to participate in this consultation, due to a schedule conflict.

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                     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                             Science Advisory Board
                                      Board

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, Landsdowne, VA
                                         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, Trussell Technologies, Inc., Pasadena, CA
      Also Member: Drinking Water Committee

LIAISONS
Dr. James H. Johnson, Member of the Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC), Dean, College
      of Engineering, Architecture & Computer Sciences, Howard University, Washington, DC

Dr. Stephen Roberts, Chair of FIFRA/SAP, Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology,
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL


SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD STAFF
Mr. Thomas Miller, Designated Federal Officer, EPA Science Advisory Board (1400A), 1200
      Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20460
                                         IV

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