Statistical Tool for Sampling Contaminated Buildings

The success of building decontamination following a CB event requires a statistically valid surface sampling plan to determine the extent of contamination. To guide the sample collection and decontamination process, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) developed a software tool to efficiently and effectively focus the efforts of decontamination personnel. PNNL enhanced the capabilities of an existing software package, the Visual Sample Plan (VSP). The enhanced VSP advises consequence management and emergency responders on how to best assess the contamination and to evaluate decontamination efforts. Version 4.0 of VSP was deployed in July 2005 and is freely available for download from the PNNL Web site at http://dqo.pnl.gov/index.htm.