Waste Estimation Support Tool (WEST)

Management of waste from a radiological dispersal device (RDD) incident would likely constitute a large part of the remediation cost and effort.  The U.S. EPA’s RDD Waste Estimation Support Tool (WEST) is a planning tool for estimating the potential volume and radioactivity levels of waste generated by a radiological incident and subsequent decontamination efforts.  WEST supports decision makers by generating a first-order estimate of the quantity and characteristics of waste resulting from a radiological incident, and allows the user to evaluate various decontamination/demolition strategies to examine the impact of those strategies on waste generation. 

Systems Approach for Wide-Area Remediation

The Waste Estimation Support Tool (WEST) supports a systems approach for remediation.  The system approach to remediation of a radiological incident includes:

• Initial development of remediation strategies for a wide-area radiological incident will start immediately following the contamination event
• Identification of the materials found in both the indoor and outdoor portions of the affected areas developing approaches for optimal cleanup of those surfaces and materials
• Development of approaches for optimal cleanup of those surfaces and materials
• Operation with the understanding that decontamination and waste management processes are linked.
• Prioritization of remediation processes as soon as possible.

  

WEST Components

• ArcGIS scripts
  • Define contaminated areas and extent of contamination
• FEMA Hazus-MH Software
  • Estimate building counts, square footage, and composition
• Suite of applications
  • Identify outdoor media based on satellite imagery
• Excel spreadsheet
  • Estimate quantity, characteristics of the resulting waste
  • Examine impact of various remediation scenarios on waste