News Releases from Headquarters›Air and Radiation (OAR)

Agencies Seek Public Comment on Joint Radiation Site Inspection Manual

WASHINGTON (June 17, 2021) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense recently completed a 10-year collaborative process to update the Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM), which provides radiation site surveyors with a method for demonstrating that their sites meet release criteria to protect public health. The agencies undertook the project as members of the MARSSIM Workgroup, and the public comment period for the revised document is now open through September 14, 2021.

“It is important to solicit feedback from stakeholders when publishing critical and influential guidance such as MARSSIM,” said Jon Edwards, Director of EPA's Office of Radiation and Indoor Air. “Our federal agency team deserves to be proud of the work it took to draft this revision.”

The updates from the MARSSIM Workgroup are intended to increase clarity and improve flexibility in providing a consistent approach for planning, performing, and assessing building surface and surface soil radiological surveys to meet established dose- or risk-based release criteria, while concurrently encouraging an effective use of personnel time, equipment, and other resources. The proposed revision aims to implement the most current scientific understanding of radiation site investigation and survey. Since MARSSIM was first issued in 1997, the scientific ability to measure radiation has improved, and the type and number of radiation measurement methods have increased.

Public participation in the review process helps ensure the document is robust and useful to those who plan, perform, and assess radiological surveys of sites. In addition to the public comment period, the EPA’s Science Advisory Board Radiation Advisory Council began a review of the proposed revision in January 2021 and will provide additional comments and suggestions to the Workgroup. Experts from the MARSSIM Workgroup will review comments and adjust document content where appropriate.

To provide comments on the proposed MARSSIM Revision 2, please visit: https://www.regulations.gov/ Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0276