A Compilation of Ambient Air Monitoring Parameters at DOE Facilities

Alice R. Baumann, DVM (LA-UR-99-5498)

Abstract

This report details specific operating parameters of ambient air sampling and analysis for radioactive contaminants and tritium at Department of Energy (DOE) facilities. It also identifies contacts familiar with the ambient air program at each DOE site.

Thirty-two sites were contacted to determine if particulate matter was collected and analyzed for a variety of radioactive materials and if water vapor was collected and analyzed for tritium.

• Eighteen of the sites perform radioactive particulate monitoring and twelve perform tritium monitoring.
• Of the facilities collecting particulate matter, 83% collect total suspended particulate; 27% collect particles with aerodynamic diameters <10 µm.
• The majority (67%) of facilities use glass fiber filters. Generally, facilities choosing to use other types of media did so because uranium levels were too high and variable in the glass fiber of the blank filters.
• Eleven of the eighteen facilities use high-volume flow rates of 35-45 cfm; seventeen facilities collect particulate for one or two weeks continuously.
• Fourteen facilities count the weekly or biweekly samples for gross alpha and gross beta, for which the detection limits are generally within an order of magnitude of 10^-3 pCi/m³.
• Fourteen sites prepare composites for the analyses of nuclides specific to the facility. The most common nuclides include ²³⁸Pu, ^239+240Pu, ²³⁴U, ²³⁵U, ²³⁸U, and ²⁴¹Am.
• Eight of the twelve facilities collecting ambient water for tritium analysis use a collection period of one or two weeks.
• Silica gel is used by 75% of the sites.
• Detection limits for tritium at most facilities range from 0.4 to 50 pCi/m³.

Document Contents

• Main Text (pdf)
• Appendix A: Radioactive Particulate Matter (pdf)
• Appendix B: Tritium (pdf)
• Appendix C: Conversion Calculations (pdf)