Challenges in Radiation Risk Communication: The Fernald Example. James M. Smith, Owen E. Devine, and Charles W. Miller, Radiation Studies Branch, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
The Fernald Dosimetry Reconstruction Project was conducted to estimate radiation doses to people who lived near the Fernald (Ohio) Feed Materials Production Center during the years of operation 1951 to 1988. The facility was primarily a uranium processing facility, a key component of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex for the Atomic Energy Commission and its successor the U.S. Department of Energy. A Draft Final Report was released in August of this year with radiation dose estimates for those who lived within a 10 km (6.2 mile) radius of the Facility. Rather than present doses and risks based on collective dose estimates or derived from the hypothetically maximum exposed individual on the "fence line" as is common in the regulatory arena, a series of "scenarios" is presented. Each of nine scenarios for which dose calculations are made is designed to be a valid representation of an individual who might have lived in the assessment area. The communication goal with the affected public is to provide realistic doses and risks, with uncertainties, for a variety of familiar situations that exemplify common lifestyles and geographic locations.