49 CFR Contamination Surveys

["Sorensen, Scott" <ssorensen@doeal.gov>]

Greetings RadSafe,

Hopefully an easy question regarding 49 CFR 173.443...  This section
states that Table 11 contamination limits be compared against samples
collected by "wiping an area of 300 square centimeters..."  How do you
interpret this specification?

I've heard of sites documenting a single-300 cm2 swipe, while others
will document three-100 cm2 swipes.  (Note that the 100 cm2 area is the
DOE standard).  Does the IAEA specify one method, or is one way better
than the other, or does it really not matter what you do as long as the
total area is 300 cm2?  I would also be interested in learning more
about the evolution of IAEA swipe area requirements if someone out there
is familiar with the basis...

Appreciate it!  I've found RadSafers to be an outstanding source of
info...

Scott Sorensen
ssorensen@doeal.gov