RE: Independent assessment of rad environmental monitoring

[MARK WINSLOW <WINSLOW.MARK@epamail.epa.gov>]

RE: Independent assessment of rad environmental monitoring

My first question is:  What part of your environmental monitoring program is
the activist group questioning?  Last year we has a situation with
Brookhaven National Labs where an activist group was questioning the
laboratory results from on site analysis.  Through an interagency agreement
our EPA lab in Alabama took split samples.  Both laboratory results were
approximately the same.  This pacified the activist group.  (On that issue at
least)

My suggestion would be to ask the MN state department of health to select
an independent laboratory and send a certain portion of your environmental
samples there.  (Assuming the lab has good scores on EML's performance
tests) This also would be a good QC practice.

If the activist group is protesting your sampling method or frequency I would
try and find a NUREG or such and tell them your following the standard
established by the regulators.


Mark P. Winslow
US EPA - Region II
winslow.mark@epa.gov
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