EPA officials agreed with most of the recommendations in the audit and said most will be implemented this month, but they disputed any assertion that the system underperformed or was inadequately managed:
EPA Radnet Stations
“EPA recognizes the expressed concern about RadNet station operability, and we have taken steps to address the issue more completely,” assistant administrators Gina McCarthy and Craig Hooks say in EPA’s official response, which appears at the end of the audit. ”However, the RadNet system was able to provide sufficient data to determine levels of airborne radioactivity during the weeks after the Fukushima nuclear power plant incident.”
“The EPA is particularly concerned about the statements concerning ‘relaxed quality controls’ since the EPA contends that this is inaccurate.”
Although EPA identifies Radnet monitors as critical infrastucture, it depends upon volunteers to maintain them. Agency protocol calls for filters to be changed twice weekly, a schedule that some volunteers have been unable to maintain.
“EPA cannot assign volunteers or enforce expectations upon them,” McCarthy and Hooks write in their response to the audit. “Instead, EPA seeks volunteers, without compensation for their time and effort…. EPA also provides recognition, such as letters of appreciation to their supervisors, for their service in an effort to maintain a good relationship with our volunteers.