From: Subject: A Brief History of the CEMP Date: Sun, 15 May 2011 15:21:30 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.cemp.dri.edu/cemp/CEMPhist.html X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.5994 A Brief History of the CEMP

A Brief History of the Community Environmental Monitoring = Program

In order to understand how the Community=20 Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP) came into being, it is = helpful to=20 become familiar with some of the history of nuclear research, = development, and=20 monitoring in the United States. By 1949, the pace of nuclear weapons = research=20 and development had accelerated to the point that the identification of = an=20 on-continent testing area was a priority of the U.S. government. Factors = of=20 population density, weather, available labor pool, transportation, real = estate=20 available to the government, and security were taken into account in the = attempt=20 to identify a suitable location. In late 1950, President Truman signed = the order=20 establishing the Nevada Proving Grounds (now called the Nevada Test Site = [NTS]). The=20 first on-site nuclear test, code-named ABLEnear=20 Middletown, Pennsylvania occurred. EMSL-LV was requested to respond to = this=20 emergency. Personnel from EMSL-LV traveled to Pennsylvania. They = established=20 radiation monitoring and environmental sampling locations in the offsite = areas=20 surrounding Three-Mile Island (TMI) and a radioanalytical laboratory in = the=20 basement of the Pennsylvania = State=20 Health Department in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The accident at TMI was a cause for much public concern and fostered = a=20 general distrust of the federal government. This distrust was still = evident in=20 the summer of 1980 when purging the nuclear reactor containment vessel = of=20 radiokrypton was planned. To increase credibility and to develop a = method to=20 communicate the status of the radiological conditions of the environment = around=20 TMI the Citi= zen=92s=20 Monitoring Program (CMP) was instituted. In each of the communities = where=20 the monitoring stations would be located, local officials nominated = residents as=20 station managers. State and Federal participants selected the managers = from the=20 nominees. EPA provided and installed the continuous beta/gamma radiation = exposure detector/recorder systems. The station managers were trained by = the Pennsylvania State University and the=20 Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources (DER). The managers=20 independently analyzed the data they collected daily and reported it to = their=20 communities and the DER. The DER validated the data and reported it to = the news=20 media. The CMP, consisting of monitoring stations operated and managed = by local=20 residents was very successful in reassuring the communities that = radiation=20 levels were being measured and accurately reported by the federal = government.=20 Since the creation of this program, similar independent community = monitoring=20 networks such as EFMR and = TMI-CMN have been established.

Because of the success of this program, it was proposed that a = similar=20 program be instituted in the communities around the NTS, where the = United States=20 was conducting its Nuclear Weapons Testing Program. Although the NRD had = well-established monitoring stations already in place in these = communities, the=20 implementation of a similar community monitoring program would create = monitoring=20 stations located in highly visible locations where local residents would = be=20 aware of their presence, and have access to the radiological data and = the=20 station managers. Thus, 1981 saw the start of the Community Monitoring = Program,=20 a cooperative project of the DOE, the Desert Research Institute (DRI), = and EPA,=20 consisting of 15 monitoring stations located in the states of = California,=20 Nevada, and Utah.

The program has expanded and has gone through several name changes, = and today=20 includes 24 monitoring stations in Nevada and Utah under the name = Community=20 Environmental Monitoring Program. In 1999, the stations were upgraded to = include=20 a full suite of meteorological instrumentation in addition to radiation=20 monitoring sensors, state-of-the-art electronic data collectors, and=20 communications hardware enabling updates to a publicly accessible web = page=20 several times daily. The program continues to be sponsored by the DOE = and is=20 administered by DRI. For more information on the CEMP, please visit our = web page=20 at http://www.cemp.dri.edu/=20