To determine radiation protection requirements for work with actinide elements, a method for rapidly estimating effective dose-equivalent rates from low-energy photons has been developed. This paper describes results obtained from a personal computer program that incorporates the point kernel technique to predict radiation fields from shielded and unshielded sources containing 241Am. Information generated has been used to determine procedures and to design facilities for handling actinides at Argonne National Laboratory's site at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. Area or point sources can be treated; effects of Compton scattering in air and in solid shields are considered. Users can select an appropriate response function; their choice has a strong influence on predicted dose rates from unshielded sources.

To ensure the maintenance of a safe working environment, and provide data of interest to operations personnel, a fixed air sampling system (FASS) has been installed at the Hot Fuel Examination Facility/North at Argonne National Laboratory's Idaho site. A design requirement is that the system be operated with a minimum number of personhours. Sixty-six sampling stations are located throughout the facility to gather data from areas where personnel are normally present without respiratory protection. The effectiveness of in-cell contamination-control programs and materials-handling procedures can be evaluated. Long-term trends are valuable guides to improving radiological controls while airborne activities are still well below operational guidelines. Since the beginning of operation in August 1976, the concentrations have averaged between 1 x lo-'' and 5 x to 4 X pCi/cm3 for P-y emitters Such values are well below the radiation concentration guides. pCi/cm3 for (Y emitters and from 4 X

Extensive decontamination was conducted to prepare the interior of the argon cell at the Hot Fuel Examination Facility for refurbishment. The radiation field associated with 10-16 yr-old fission products was reduced by remote cleaning before personnel entry. This paper describes the operations, dosimetry, protective clothing, hardware and procedures used to ensure compliance with radiation exposure guidelines. Contact decontamination was conducted in general radiation levels that varied from 300 to less than 30 mrem/hr for that component of the radiation that could penetrate 540 mg per cm2 of aluminum. However, it was the nonpenetrating component that controlled in-cell stay times; it varied from 1500 to less than 130 mrem/hr. Even after decontamination, several areas of fixed contamination emitting over 1000 mrem/hr of nonpenetrating radiation were identified and locally shielded. There were 916 person-entries required for decontamination. These resulted in integrated exposures of 99 and 599 man-rem for the whole body and skin, respectively.

Testing has been completed for two lightly shielded areas that support operations in the Fuel Conditioning Facility at the Argonne National Laboratory site at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. Operational requirements dictated the use of a radiography source containing 0.44 TBq (12 Ci) of 192Ir to challenge reinforced concrete and steel shields that surround a decontamination, maintenance, and repair area for contaminated equipment used in hot cell operations. A more intense source containing 0.89 TBq (24 Ci) of 192Ir was used to test lead shot and steel shields around tanks in a radioactive liquid waste system and the boundaries of the room that contained it. Measurement procedures were developed to find design flaws and construction deficiencies while minimizing radiation exposure to test participants. While the shields are adequate to limit gamma ray deep dose equivalents to 10 mSv y(-1) (1 rem y(-1)) or less to facility personnel, several modifications were necessary to assure that the attenuation is adequate to keep dose rates less than 5 microSv h(-1) (0.5 mrem h(-1)) in normally occupied areas.

A new repair and decontamination area is being built to support operations at the demonstration fuel cycle facility for the Integral Fast Reactor program at Argonne National Laboratory's site at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. Provisions are made for remote, glove wall, and contact maintenance on equipment removed from hot cells where spent fuel will be electrochemically processed and recycled to the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II. The source for the shielding design is contamination from a mix of fission and activation products present on items removed from the hot cells. The repair facility also serves as a transfer path for radioactive waste produced by processing operations. Radiation shields are designed to limit dose rates to no more than 5 microSv h-1 (0.5 mrem h-1) in normally occupied areas. Point kernel calculations with buildup factors have been used to design the shielding and to position radiation monitors within the area.