Public involvement in science and decision making.
Members of the public are becoming increasingly interested in understanding risks associated with their exposure to radionuclides and chemicals in the environment. They also want to be more involved in decision making about future exposures to risks. This paper reviews one community's involvement in decisions about technical methods to calculate soil cleanup criteria for the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site near Denver, Colorado. The public anticipated that much of the site would be available for their use following cleanup. Final decisions regarding the future use of the site have yet to be made; however, the soil action levels were developed for this eventuality. When the public expressed considerable concern about cleanup standards for the site in 1996, a community group met to focus efforts on reviewing the cleanup standards. Later, the U.S. Department of Energy officially established the community panel to oversee an independent calculation of radionuclide soil action levels that would be used as the basis for cleanup at Rocky Flats. The primary radionuclide of concern was 239+240Pu. The Radionuclide Soil Action Level Oversight Panel (Panel) was substantively involved in all aspects of the work, from selecting the contractor, approving the computer code that formed the basis of the calculation, and assisting in developing the exposure scenarios, to selecting the values for the numerous input parameters. Communicating the uncertainties to the public, which was a major component of the analysis of soil action levels, presented a unique challenge. Over the course of the 18-mo project, the Panel and interested members of the public gained an understanding of the technical elements of the calculation and the sensitivities of the different parameters. This project serves as an excellent model of the effectiveness of public involvement in science and decision making for the future. It also illustrates the public expectations, difficulties, and time commitments encountered when making scientific decisions in a public forum. Although the process was time consuming for the scientists responsible for the calculations, a more technically defensible as well as publicly acceptable soil action level emerged. The technical approach developed during the project has been recommended for use as a decision-making tool for cleanup of the site.
Risk Assessment Corporation, Neeses, SC 29107, USA. johntill@mindspring.com
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Till
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Meyer
D003120:Colorado; D003256:Community Participation; D003657:Decision Making; D011848:Radioactive Pollutants
D011848:Radioactive Pollutants