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Risk Assessment and Federal Guidance Programs:
PRESTO
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
Risk Assessment
PRESTO(Prediction of Radiological Effects Due to Shallow Trench Operations) is a computer model for evaluating radiation exposure from contaminated soil layers, including waste disposal, soil cleanup, agricultural land application, and land reclamation.
On this page:
- Download Software, Instructions, and Documentation
- Background
- Application Niche
- Regulatory Text
- Strengths and Limitation
- Verification, Validation And Peer Review
- Hardware Requirements
Download Software, Instructions, and Documentation
The table below allows you to download both the software and the user guides for Version 4.2 of PRESTO-EPA-CPG /POP Operation System. The PRESTO-EPA-CPG/POP Operation System contains a family of PRESTO multimedia models:- PRESTO-EPA-CPG (Critical Population Group)
- PRESTO-EPA-POP (Population)
These documents are continuously being improved and we encourage you to comment on the effectiveness and applicability of this operation system.
| File | Size | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Version 4.2 Setup | 13.5MB | Application |
| Users' Guide - Main Text | 647Kb | [about pdf format] |
| Users' Guide - Appendices | 647Kb | [about pdf format] |
| Microsoft Patches for Windows 95 and 98 | 1.17MB | Application |
| Microsoft Data Access Components 2.5 Setup Software for Windows 95 and 98 Patches | 7.51MB | Application |
| Installation Instructions | 2.2KB | Microsoft Word |
Background
These models are intended to support the development of EPA's environmental standards and criteria. The initial models, published in 1987, were developed for a mainframe computer. Subsequent versions were modified to operate on a personal computer in a DOS environment.- PRESTO-EPA-CPG Operation System
- Version 2.0published in 1993
- Version 2.1 published in 1996
- PRESTO-EPA-POP Operation System
- Version 2.1 published in 1995
Application Niche
The models are designed to calculate the maximum annual committed effective dose to a critical population group and cumulative fatal health effects and genetic effects to the general population in several scenarios:- near surface disposal trench containing low-level radioactive waste and/or naturally occurring or accelerator produced radioactive material (NARM)
- residual radionuclides remaining in soil layers after cleanup
- agricultural land application of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) waste
- stripped land reclamation with applied TENORM waste
Regulatory Context
EPA has used the PRESTO-EPA-CPG/POP Operation Systems extensively to generate dose and risk estimates to support the following EPA rules and reports:- Proposed Low-Level Radioactive Waste and NARM Rule submitted to OMB (1987)
- Draft Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials Report (1998)
- Criteria to Evaluate Risk Assessment for Land Application of Alternative Uses of Phosphogypsum (1999)
- Risk Assessment Modeling Analyses for the Land Application of Uranium TENORM (2000)
- Proposed Low-Activity Mixed Waste Rule (2000)
Strengths and Limitations
To avoid overly conservative results, EPA employed the following approaches:- a dynamic approach for the infiltration sub-model;
- a multi-phase leaching concept for the release sub-model;
- realistic transition flow from vertical transport reach to horizontal transport reach for the groundwater sub-model; and
- plausible scenario assumptions for the well mechanics sub-model.
Verification, Validation And Peer Review
PRESTO-EPA-CPG and PRESTO-EPA-POP have been subjected to extensive quality assurance and peer reviews:- extensive quality assurance review of the conceptual model, computational algorithms, computer coding, documentation, analysis scenario, and calculations results. (Inter System, Inc. -1983)
- expert review of the PRESTO model focused on the conceptual model, the results of sample analysis, and documentation. (42 experts from various institutions, including national labs, academic entities, industry, and international organizations -1984)
- validation of dynamic infiltration sub-model against field study data collected for the Barnwell, South Carolina low-level radioactive waste disposal site by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-1983
| Source | Inches/year |
|---|---|
| PRESTO analyses | 13.8-17.7 |
| USGS field data | 14-17 |
| NRC field data | 14 |
- analysis of the unique nature of the one-dimensional groundwater transport model, using Hung's correction factor to compensate the error induced from the diffusion term (published by "Nuclear and Chemical Waste Management" -1986)
- review of several models proposed for use in regulatory analyses: PRESTO only model recommended for various types of analyses that supported licensing of low-level radioactive waste sites (Compacts Host State Technical Coordinating Committee-1989)
- validation of the unique one-dimensional groundwater transport model, including the vertical transport reach, below contaminated site collection reach, and horizontal transport reach, against the three-dimensional MODFLOW-SURFACT model. The relative errors for the peak concentration at the off-site well between the two models were less than 10 percent, with a best case reduced to 3 percent. (2000)
- extensive test runs and subsequent reviews of conceptual model, numerical analysis algorithms, computer coding, and documentation, which resulted in several minor modifications.(EPA staff-2000)
Hardware Requirements
- IBM-compatible personal computer
- Pentium or equivalent capacity
- 16 megabytes of RAM
- 10 megabytes available hard disk space
- upgraded Windows 95, B version or newer, or 98, using:
