254
20 Remediation
produces little or no exposure inside of a structure will have no health effect on the
population; it might not make sense to spend large sums of money—and to occupy a
decontamination crew for many weeks or months—to remove contamination that is
not causing any harm. This is another of the many decisions that will have to be made
in the aftermath of a radiological attack (fallout from a nuclear detonation tends to
be relatively short-lived and will decay more quickly than long-lived nuclides that
might be used in a radiological attack).
20.5 Remediation Contractors and Oversight
Cleaning up radioactive contamination is fairly straightforward—by and large it is
much the same as cleaning up spilled chemicals or any other unwanted materials.
And while there are some skills unique to working with radioactivity, these skills
have little to do with the actual cleanup. In fact, some aspects of radiation simplify
the remediation work compared to chemical spills; unlike chemicals, for example,
radiation can be detected fairly easily using relatively inexpensive hand-held equipment, giving workers real-time indications regarding the progress of their work as
well as their own contamination levels.
The difficulty with radiological remediation is that radiation and radioactivity are
heavily regulated (requiring remediation workers and contractors to have a familiarity
with the applicable regulations) and it calls for the use of radiation instruments
(requiring the workers and contractors to have a familiarity with the equipment). In
addition, radiological remediations tend to be subject to both regulatory and public
scrutiny, in large part owing to fears of radiation.
As a result, there are a limited number of contractors with experience conducting
radiological remediations—enough to perform the typical level of radiological work
that exists. But in the event of a radiological or nuclear attack the amount of such
remediation that must be done will vastly outstrip the capacity of experienced and
qualified remediation firms. This will present regulatory agencies with a conundrum:
delaying remediation and reoccupancy of contaminated areas while waiting for qualified contractors to become available, or allowing work to be performed by contractors
who lack substantial experience performing radiological work. If remediation carries
on long enough it might also be possible for additional contractors to become qualified to perform radiological remediations, perhaps by first working collaboratively
(or as subcontractors) to existing experienced radiological remediation firms to gain
the experience needed to work independently.
We also need to consider the customers—property owners, business owners,
hospitals, universities, and all the others who own or work in contaminated areas.
Consider a small business owner whose shop is inside a contaminated building; no
matter how eager the owner is to open for business, they cannot do so until the
shop is decontaminated, as well as the streets and sidewalks leading to the shop,
the parking lot where customers park, the bus and train lines that bring workers and
customers, and so forth. This also raises a question of policy: It is reasonable to
20 Remediation
produces little or no exposure inside of a structure will have no health effect on the
population; it might not make sense to spend large sums of money—and to occupy a
decontamination crew for many weeks or months—to remove contamination that is
not causing any harm. This is another of the many decisions that will have to be made
in the aftermath of a radiological attack (fallout from a nuclear detonation tends to
be relatively short-lived and will decay more quickly than long-lived nuclides that
might be used in a radiological attack).
20.5 Remediation Contractors and Oversight
Cleaning up radioactive contamination is fairly straightforward—by and large it is
much the same as cleaning up spilled chemicals or any other unwanted materials.
And while there are some skills unique to working with radioactivity, these skills
have little to do with the actual cleanup. In fact, some aspects of radiation simplify
the remediation work compared to chemical spills; unlike chemicals, for example,
radiation can be detected fairly easily using relatively inexpensive hand-held equipment, giving workers real-time indications regarding the progress of their work as
well as their own contamination levels.
The difficulty with radiological remediation is that radiation and radioactivity are
heavily regulated (requiring remediation workers and contractors to have a familiarity
with the applicable regulations) and it calls for the use of radiation instruments
(requiring the workers and contractors to have a familiarity with the equipment). In
addition, radiological remediations tend to be subject to both regulatory and public
scrutiny, in large part owing to fears of radiation.
As a result, there are a limited number of contractors with experience conducting
radiological remediations—enough to perform the typical level of radiological work
that exists. But in the event of a radiological or nuclear attack the amount of such
remediation that must be done will vastly outstrip the capacity of experienced and
qualified remediation firms. This will present regulatory agencies with a conundrum:
delaying remediation and reoccupancy of contaminated areas while waiting for qualified contractors to become available, or allowing work to be performed by contractors
who lack substantial experience performing radiological work. If remediation carries
on long enough it might also be possible for additional contractors to become qualified to perform radiological remediations, perhaps by first working collaboratively
(or as subcontractors) to existing experienced radiological remediation firms to gain
the experience needed to work independently.
We also need to consider the customers—property owners, business owners,
hospitals, universities, and all the others who own or work in contaminated areas.
Consider a small business owner whose shop is inside a contaminated building; no
matter how eager the owner is to open for business, they cannot do so until the
shop is decontaminated, as well as the streets and sidewalks leading to the shop,
the parking lot where customers park, the bus and train lines that bring workers and
customers, and so forth. This also raises a question of policy: It is reasonable to