Dec. 8, 2009
Huntington Pilot (Reduction) Plant Post Decontamination Residual Radiation Contained at the Site Per Worker Exposure Audit from 2005
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) - Having viewed a February 2005 Audit of a Huntington Pilot (Reduction) Plant worker’s radiation exposure, HNN now confirms that based on said report workers likely experienced “additional internal and external exposures associate with residual radioactivity at the facility” as the space was not “decontaminated” until 1978.
In addition the report to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) discusses “post-decontamination surveys” that “revealed exposure rates” and that the auditor “suspects” the high residual contamination on “surfaces may have come from spills and from the deposition of particles much larger than five micron, which may have had a much higher deposition velocity than those that apply to five micron particles.”
The Report indicates that the Huntington plant did indeed receive materials from the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant and radioactive contamination in nickel feedstock “introduced into the plants with reprocessed uranium fuel from plutonium production reactors at Hanford and Savanah.”
This report contains reference to activities from 1951 to 1963 “the Huntington Pilot Plant performed under contract to the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)” AND during a similar period the facility was also referred to as the Reduction Pilot Plant (RPP) because of “special nickel processing operations the facility performed on behalf of the government which involved the handling and processing of material contaminated with enriched uranium.”
Further, the early disputes over types of exposures of Huntington workers is evident from the report. “In the first draft of this audit, S. Cohen & Associates” had raised objections to conclusion that scrap nickel workers received contamination only from “uranium isotopes and their progeny.” Literature has confirmed contaminated isotopes included Tc (Technetium), Np (neutron) and Pu.(plutonium).
THE LEVELS OF RADIATION
In order to determine compensation for atomic plant workers, the government has relied upon reconstructions of the environments in which they worked. These estimates have been disputed as too low.
In fact, the National Council on Radiation Protection & Measurement (NCRP) and the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommend maximum permissible doses (MPD) of radiation to which people should be exposed. People have two classifications --- those referred to as general public and radiation workers. “The rationale is that ‘radiation workers’ presumably accept increased risk by informed consent as a trade off in exchange for the benefits of exposure.” http://www.oasisllc.com/abgx/risks.htm
At one time (for instance in the 20s) radioactive water was considered a medical cure. Radithor contained triple distilled water and ONE microcurie of Ra-226 and Ra-228. The amount was considered harmless. The two and one eighth inch high bottle had a level of 2uR/hr about background radiation at one foot; 35 uR/hr above background on contact.
A.M. Byers, the founder of a large steel company suffered an injury on a train in 1928. His physician recommended Radithor, of which he drank an estimated three bottle daily for two years; he stopped when his teeth began falling out and holes appeared in his skull. He died in 1932. http://www.orau.org/PTP/collection/quackcures/radith.htm
According to the Report by the auditor on the Huntington worker, “post – decontamination surveys revealed exposure rates of about NINE to TWELVE uR/hr, with a maximum of 35uR/hr.” The NOPSH at the time considered an exposure limit to be 500 mrem/year.
For purpose of comparative radiation levels, consider that altitude allows more radiation exposure too. Another comparison, scientist Louis Tonry said that before a flight from Germany to Tel Aviv in 1999, “on the tarmac, the exposure rate was about 35 uR/hr [and] at 36,000 feet , the exposure was about 180-200 uR/hr…. The number that catches my attention is the 35 uR/hr. That’s normally FIVE times higher than I’d expect unless you were in a very-high background [radiation] area of Germany or the instrument [measuring radiation] was sitting near a load of radiopharmaceutical materials…” http://radlab.nl/radsafe/archives/9912/msg00038.html
Editor’s Note: For the convenience of readers, we refer to the following document as a “report” or “audit” during the article. It’s full title is: Report to the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health, NIOSA, Audit of Case from Huntington (WV) Pilot Plant, prepared by Dr. John Mauro, Ph.D. , S. Cohen & Associates, McLean , Virginia, February 2005. To download: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas/pdfs/abrwh/drreview/scadrr02.pdf
© 2009 Huntington News.net and Tony Rutherford
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Huntington Pilot (Reduction) Plant Post Decontamination Residual Radiation Contained at the Site Per Worker Exposure Audit from 2005
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) - Having viewed a February 2005 Audit of a Huntington Pilot (Reduction) Plant worker’s radiation exposure, HNN now confirms that based on said report workers likely experienced “additional internal and external exposures associate with residual radioactivity at the facility” as the space was not “decontaminated” until 1978.
In addition the report to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) discusses “post-decontamination surveys” that “revealed exposure rates” and that the auditor “suspects” the high residual contamination on “surfaces may have come from spills and from the deposition of particles much larger than five micron, which may have had a much higher deposition velocity than those that apply to five micron particles.”
The Report indicates that the Huntington plant did indeed receive materials from the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant and radioactive contamination in nickel feedstock “introduced into the plants with reprocessed uranium fuel from plutonium production reactors at Hanford and Savanah.”
This report contains reference to activities from 1951 to 1963 “the Huntington Pilot Plant performed under contract to the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)” AND during a similar period the facility was also referred to as the Reduction Pilot Plant (RPP) because of “special nickel processing operations the facility performed on behalf of the government which involved the handling and processing of material contaminated with enriched uranium.”
Further, the early disputes over types of exposures of Huntington workers is evident from the report. “In the first draft of this audit, S. Cohen & Associates” had raised objections to conclusion that scrap nickel workers received contamination only from “uranium isotopes and their progeny.” Literature has confirmed contaminated isotopes included Tc (Technetium), Np (neutron) and Pu.(plutonium).
THE LEVELS OF RADIATION
In order to determine compensation for atomic plant workers, the government has relied upon reconstructions of the environments in which they worked. These estimates have been disputed as too low.
In fact, the National Council on Radiation Protection & Measurement (NCRP) and the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommend maximum permissible doses (MPD) of radiation to which people should be exposed. People have two classifications --- those referred to as general public and radiation workers. “The rationale is that ‘radiation workers’ presumably accept increased risk by informed consent as a trade off in exchange for the benefits of exposure.” http://www.oasisllc.com/abgx/risks.htm
At one time (for instance in the 20s) radioactive water was considered a medical cure. Radithor contained triple distilled water and ONE microcurie of Ra-226 and Ra-228. The amount was considered harmless. The two and one eighth inch high bottle had a level of 2uR/hr about background radiation at one foot; 35 uR/hr above background on contact.
A.M. Byers, the founder of a large steel company suffered an injury on a train in 1928. His physician recommended Radithor, of which he drank an estimated three bottle daily for two years; he stopped when his teeth began falling out and holes appeared in his skull. He died in 1932. http://www.orau.org/PTP/collection/quackcures/radith.htm
According to the Report by the auditor on the Huntington worker, “post – decontamination surveys revealed exposure rates of about NINE to TWELVE uR/hr, with a maximum of 35uR/hr.” The NOPSH at the time considered an exposure limit to be 500 mrem/year.
For purpose of comparative radiation levels, consider that altitude allows more radiation exposure too. Another comparison, scientist Louis Tonry said that before a flight from Germany to Tel Aviv in 1999, “on the tarmac, the exposure rate was about 35 uR/hr [and] at 36,000 feet , the exposure was about 180-200 uR/hr…. The number that catches my attention is the 35 uR/hr. That’s normally FIVE times higher than I’d expect unless you were in a very-high background [radiation] area of Germany or the instrument [measuring radiation] was sitting near a load of radiopharmaceutical materials…” http://radlab.nl/radsafe/archives/9912/msg00038.html
Editor’s Note: For the convenience of readers, we refer to the following document as a “report” or “audit” during the article. It’s full title is: Report to the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health, NIOSA, Audit of Case from Huntington (WV) Pilot Plant, prepared by Dr. John Mauro, Ph.D. , S. Cohen & Associates, McLean , Virginia, February 2005. To download: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas/pdfs/abrwh/drreview/scadrr02.pdf
© 2009 Huntington News.net and Tony Rutherford
Share This Story:
Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
