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Public involvement in science and decision making.
Health Physics
|April 3, 2001
Summary
Public involvement in calculating soil cleanup standards for Rocky Flats led to a defensible and acceptable outcome. This collaboration enhanced community understanding of environmental risks and scientific decision-making processes.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Risk Assessment
- Public Health
Background:
- Growing public interest in environmental risks from radionuclides and chemicals.
- Public desire for involvement in decisions regarding future environmental exposures.
- Need for community input on technical methods for soil cleanup criteria at Rocky Flats.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review a community's involvement in decisions regarding technical methods for soil cleanup criteria.
- To establish a community panel to oversee independent calculation of radionuclide soil action levels.
- To develop a technically defensible and publicly acceptable soil action level for Rocky Flats.
Main Methods:
- Formation of a community panel (Radionuclide Soil Action Level Oversight Panel) by the U.S. Department of Energy.
- Panel involvement in contractor selection, computer code approval, exposure scenario development, and parameter value selection.
- Communication of uncertainties in the analysis to the public.
Main Results:
- The community panel gained a comprehensive understanding of the technical calculations and parameter sensitivities.
- A soil action level was developed that was both technically defensible and publicly acceptable.
- The project demonstrated the effectiveness of public involvement in scientific decision-making.
Conclusions:
- Public involvement in environmental cleanup decisions can lead to more robust and accepted outcomes.
- Effective communication of scientific uncertainties is crucial for public engagement.
- The developed technical approach serves as a valuable decision-making tool for site cleanup.