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wind patterns. Accordingly, the sampling location proximate <br />to the west property boundary is located such that: it is <br />virtually unaffected by the valley wind patterns Bind is <br />expected to yield airborne particulate concentrations <br />uninfluenced by the licensed facilities. <br />iv. <br />Addendum: The above rationale for the use of the sampling <br />location proximate to the west property boundary is considered <br />valid when viewed in its intended context concerning the <br />establishment of a site background for the licensed <br />facilities, however concerns have been voiced about the <br />potential undue influence of non-licensed facility radiation <br />sources on this location. A review is now in progress to <br />address those concerns. In the interim the sampling location <br />offsite on Pine Ridge Road will be used as a background level <br />because it is definitely not affected by either the licensed <br />facilities or non-licensed radiation sources. <br />Pathways <br />A. External Dose - Direct Gamma Radiation <br />The mineralogy surrounding the licensed facilities makes <br />the determination of a "net" dose for gamma radiation from <br />the licensed facilities difficult. The mineralogy of the <br />opposing valley slopes at the site is quite different. <br />Specifically, the valley side east-northeast o:E the site <br />is much younger than the valley side west-northwest of the <br />site. The age of the east-northeast side is on the order <br />of millions of years, while the west-northwest side is <br />about 4 to 4.5 billion years old. Needless to say, this <br />leads to a vastly different mineralogy. The e<ist- <br />northeast side is comprised mostly of sandstones, <br />mudstones, clay and conglomerates, while the we:st- <br />northwest side is made ug of metamorphosed gnei.sses and <br />schists. Geology types such as sandstones, muclstones, and <br />clays are historically associated with higher '"background" <br />gamma counts than the metamorphosed types. <br />This difference in mineralogy substantially limits the use <br />of a thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) for background <br />subtraction. To address this problem, Cotter F~roposed the <br />placement of ten TLDs on the east-northeast valley side <br />for a period of one year. This proposal was approved by <br />Radiation Control and monitoring began on April 1, 1988. <br />The one year monitoring period was completed in 1989 and <br />the average annual background gamma radiation exposure for <br />the ten locations studied was 184 mRem. <br />A gamma dose is not attributed to the licensed facilities <br />and is not included in the offsite dose commitment because <br />the background study data of 184 mRem/yr exceeds the 158 <br />mRem/yr calculated from monitoring data collected from <br />