{open_quotes}How clean is clean?{close_quotes} Cleanup standards, guidelines, and pathway analysis models

In 1993, the successful workshop on {open_quotes}How Clean is Clean?{close_quotes} focused on the statistical approaches to final release of cleaned up sites and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission`s draft manual NUREG/CR-5849 on surveys for license termination. This year`s theme was the important topic of cleanup standards, guidelines, and pathway analysis models. The number of sites requiring cleanup in the federal and non-federal sectors runs into thousands and the cleanup of these sites may end up costing several hundred billions of dollars. Already, the federal cleanup programs alone amount to a multi-billion dollar effort on an annual basis. And, the key {open_quotes}cost-driven{close_quotes} question still persists: How Clean is Clean Enough?, or When do we know we are done with the cleanup? There is as yet no consensus on cleanup standards or guidelines. The topic will no doubt continue to be debated in the future. The purpose of the 1994 workshop was to therefore provide a forum to have some discussion on this important topic.