Independent Verification
| Survey Projects |
|---|
| Independent Verification |
| Characterization Surveys |
| Other Field Investigations |
| Guidance Documents |
| Radiochemistry Laboratory |
As government agencies and their contractors initiate efforts to clean up facilities contaminated with hazardous or radioactive materials, they request ORISE’s assistance in verifying that the sites are free of any contamination that exceeds state and federal release criteria, ensuring the facilities and sites can be safely designated for public use.
Independent evaluation of final site conditions and validation of contractor’s final status survey procedures increases the probability of complete remediation and documentation. To provide an unbiased analysis of the decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) process, ORISE uses a combination of field and laboratory capabilities to control all aspects and phases of the survey process.
Field and Laboratory Expertise
Independent surveys are performed by health physics professionals with an average of 10 years of experience. Our team of qualified radiological experts follows systematic procedures to collect samples using a field instrumentation arsenal of:
- Global Positioning Systems
- Handheld Radiation Detectors
- Floor Monitors
- Pressurized Ionization Chambers
- Spectrometers
Each sample brought to the laboratory is carefully analyzed and should field examination indicate that contaminants remain above acceptable levels, our job is to make recommendations to bring the site into compliance.
Benefits of Independent Verification
There are many benefits to the independent verification of D&D projects.
Verification:
- Offers a cost-effective way to provide assurance that the site was successfully remediated to the risk-based release criteria.
- Supports stakeholder education on cleanup issues, particularly related to final surveys and future site use.
- Helps ensure that D&D plans and reports are technically sound.
- Provides balance to the contractor’s goal of minimizing project costs without adversely impacting cleanup schedules.
- Helps to prevent an improper release of property that is not in compliance with federal environmental and radiation protection standards.
- Greatly enhances credibility and builds public trust in environmental cleanup activities.
ORISE is the leading group that verifies D&D contractors’ efforts and ensures they have met the criteria that a site is acceptable and ready for release. States and the federal government have relied on ORISE’s capabilities at more than 500 contaminated sites across the nation to ensure no corners have been cut and that the remediation work is properly completed.
ORISE Projects Cross the United States
ORISE’s experience and status in the field of independent verification is unmatched. Since 1980, ORISE has built a reputation of superior service and unbiased reporting that has taken experts to major verification projects in 42 out of the nation’s 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia. ORISE has participated in major verification projects including:
- Fernald Closure Project
- Miamisburg (Mound) Closure Project
- Ashtabula Closure Project
- Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Plant
- East Tennessee Technology Park Zone 1 and Zone 2
- Rocky Flats Closure Project
- Brookhaven National Laboratory Environmental Restoration
- Columbus Environmental Management Project (Battelle)
- Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant
- Argonne National Laboratory D&D Project
- Yankee Rowe Nuclear Power Plant
- Connecticut Yankee Nuclear Power Plant
- Trojan Nuclear Power Plant
- Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP)
ORISE has performed independent verification at more than 500 locations across the country and is capable of handling your project, whether large or small. Below is a map of survey locations and the states visited by ORISE’s staff of qualified professionals.
