ML19322C722

Health Physics at SL-1. Published in Nucleonics Magazine

ML19322C722
Person / Time
Site:	Crane
Issue date:	12/31/1961
From:	Bills C, Horan J US ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION (AEC)
To:
References
TASK-TF, TASK-TMR PR-611231, NUDOCS 8001210509
Download: ML19322C722 (4)

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Hea f n Sysics at S _-1 llm; 2

From first-hand experience at St.-1 we cari ev'aluate our ability to deal l

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with nuclear accidents.

For the future we must have larger-range

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detectors and better methods for handling radioactive casualties j

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lg by JOHN R. HORAN and C. WAYNE BILLS h

t limith and Safay Dividan,.4 EC Iddo Operations Ofce, Idaho Falls, Iddo

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,mbo AT THE sirl AceIDENr earlier this year, rescue crewH received will not keep Preplanning Pays Off Ap

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health physicists encountered many the.<c men from working in any nuclear Y [ '~

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"firrts" in health-physics operations programs in the future.

In responding to the SIrl fire alarm- '

n ti and management. 31oreover they-

• But we must improve. In particuhr potentie.lly involving radiation ha'zards -

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uetc able to evaluate how well their the sir 1 disaster points up a void in tbc

-the division followed its preplanned f.4 !f preplanned progran. worked in a nu-preplanned technique for dealing with emergency bealth-physics program;as.

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clear disaster area and what improve-highly radioactive casualties. In addi-its fire trucks rolled toward the Army 9

ments they must make. The experi-tion the rescue crew that originally Reactors Experimental Area on that Y

enee of the resena crews working in a arrived on the scene was not equipped first Tuesday evening in January.

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1 151 highly contaminated environment imint with instruments that recorded radi-This program, set up by the AEC out the following important facts about ation levels above 500 r/hr. Conse-Health and Safety Division at Idaho

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existing health-physics terbniques, quently the cr(w couhl not determine Falls, (see Box on page 46) not only 4

• Prepionned program worked well. ' the extent of the radiation in the reac-provides equipment to deal with acci-

[""tthough there is, of course, room for tor room (Fee box on Page 44 for dents but also outlines the basic pro-jj j

improvement in existing health-physics improvements).

eedures and responsibilities needed to i

9 tedniques, the preplanned operation

• We learned from experience. cope with all kinds of emergency situ-

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albwed rescue crews not only to enter From the 61 1 disaster we not only ations-plant incidents, natural dis-p i

t the reactor room where radiati<,n levels gained valuable practical health-physics asters, enemy attack or security alerts.

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Aere 500-1,000 r/hr, but also to re-experience, but alao were able t o analyze An important part of the program l

/ move the tulics of the tbree men killed our preparedness and ability to handle is a general notification system that the

' in the accident without further injuries nuclear accidents in the future. 3 fore-IIcalth and Safety Division uses not

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or casualties. 3forvover the radiation over we gained confidence in dealing only to request on-site, off-site or off-

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exposures that members of the early with nuclear emergencies.

duty health-physics assistance, but 3 p.

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rno* gor raidiotion was confined to reactor building I;fe of ~36 days indicating long-lived fission products

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" cal conditions. The-IDO fire depart-possible incidents and field r-sponses to a life and a 25-roentgen dose for a man d

1. ment used this system when at 9:02 p.m.

simulated accidents, the radiological protecting valuable property (Table l).

E i ' %'lon Jan. 3 they requested health-physics assistance plan develops the response The importance of this prepbnning

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.i assistance from Phillips Petroleum capability of the AEC and its con-became evident when the fire depart-j i 2 %$ Company at MTR. - The program also tractors. This program provides 30 ment answered the alarm frtm the re-

- 3 Cr, sets up a field headquarters complete people trained in health physics and actor. For example, although' i the r

N with decontamination and counting-medical practices to deal with emer --SL-1 site was kept locked instead of

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, ;4 trailer facilities; this field station gencies at NRTS. Preplanning also having a 24-hr guard, the IDO security

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ji What We Learned and How We Are improving Hechh-Physics Techniques '.

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The most valuable health-phys-futur Although we had re-i, ti ics information from the SL-1 viewed many hazard reports and quate in several areas. In the ~ ~

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- 4 accident comes from analyses of had discussed the worst possible table below we have listed some of.

I our ability and preparedness to accidents at NRTS, we found at these inadequacies as well as the handle nuclear accidents in the SL-1 that our actual health-improvements we are making.

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porting contaminated bodies. Also we are evaluating'- -

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remote decontamination and surgical equipment forr

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handling casualties.

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• Maintain more emergency equipment-easily avail-

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• Have more trained health-physics personnel at dis-

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n roentgens over an indefinite period of gamma count from sagebru3h in the both bodies. Although the clothing

7 time. In part this discrepancy was same area was <50 times background. was wet and very contaminated, re-i; due to the different amounts of contact moving it did not greatly reduce the (l

with radiation that a man had either genrral radiation field because of the Recover.mg Bod.ies received or was likely to encounter in gumma-emitting particles imbed led in

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bis own job. In our selection of groups During Phase 3-recovery of the the boilies by the explosion. There-i f, of men for jobs invohing radiation bodies of the two remaining crew mem-fore the men impmvi.<ed les I coats as i

hazards ne considered the ages of the bers-health physicists >et an expo <ure partial shieldings for the bodies; the (k

men and chose older men whenever guide to workers in which ten men fireman driving the ambulance the 11.

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would be allowed to reach to ro.ntgens miles to the plant receivedonly a J-

• Evidence obtained during the phase during the rescue work (Table 1). For-ISO mr dose.

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. ~ q; assured us that no immediate danger tunately because of carefully planned An eight-man medical monit'oring' s

j g-existed from exposure of the early and executed team work this limit was team from Im Alamos Scientific Labo-rescue teams or from contamination to never reached. To minimize the expo-ratory helped physicians from NRTS

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' the environment. This evaluation was sures three two-man teams were organ-decontaminate the bodies to 1-10%

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based on the following:

ized to go in the reactor room for not of their originallevels. This team was

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• The maximum whole-body gamma more than 1 min each to recover the a great boon to IDO since by turning p;, ' exposure to members of the early rescue second body. All the teams were over the important decontamination team was 27 roentgens (Table 2).

staffed by Army cadre men who knew job to so.ncone else, the health physi-9 1 -i. ;

• Despite existinginversion condition *, the facility; thorough briefings gave cista in the IIealth and Safety Division p i f ', contamination to the enGronment was them clear pictures of their missions. could give their undivided attention

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Fortunately only one two-man team to other jobs at the di.< aster site.

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• Air samples collected at the fence was actually used in3ide the reactor Similar health physics practices were

i. e around the site and at the control point building.

used during the photographie, TV and '

f } gave concentrations of I

< 10-'

Because of this careful planning, the other entries connected with removing I

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first two-man team, which retrieved -the third body (Fig. 4). During these s

,.* Aerial and biological monitoring the first body and descended midn'ay operations the crews received exposures Ld.;Wearly on Jan. 4 confirmed these small i

down the stairway within the allotted in the range of 2-6 roentgens.

! [F contamination concentrations beyond minute, received whohWody expo <ures After the recovery of the thini body

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- the.SL-1 area (Fig. 3). The largest of only 9 and 4 roent;; ens re<pectively. health-physics responsibilities were

activity-125 cps above a 200-eps back-Although there were areas on the vic-gradually shifted from the Health and j*

ground-detected by the first aerial-tim's Inly that gave 500-r/hr readings Safety Division back to the health-If

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monitoring flight was ~3 miles douth-at ~1 ft, the second crew, which physics staff of Combustion Engineer-

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west of the reactor site. The gross carried the body as far as the gate ing, the operating contractor for the

_ house, r,eceived only 260 and 305 mr, reactor. Since that timr their general j(i s,,

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duties have been to give health-physics -

To reduce the radiation levels inside support to the remote operations for p'

the cab of the ambulance that carried the %1 recovery program. In late

/ J TABLE 2-SL-1 Exposures > 5 r Through the bodies to the dematamination room 3Iay there respon>ibilities were handed g

. j,,, 9 at the Idaho Chemical 1 roceuing Plant, over to General Electric, the SL-1 1,

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the crews removed the clothing from decontamination contractor.

trating Thyrord jl

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What the Health and Safety Division Does for NRTS

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1 h [ '. AEC health physicist 27 4.2 To grasp fully '.he significance and scope of the health-physica program that

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.: - ' Contractor supervisor 27' l.2 went swiftly into operation at SL-1, one must understand the unique position

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Contractor supervisor 25 0.6 held by the Hsalth and Safety Division in the entire AEC complex. Unlike

~ [ Contractor supervisor 25 1.2 the situation at other sites where contrac+ ors take over much of the health-N ' :* ' Contractor health physics operations,it is the job of the divispn to develop, coordinate and main-

/ physicist 23 5.5 tain an effective program for conventiomi safety and radiological safety at

...... AEC project ollicer 21 0.0 NRTS. By taking over this program the division avoids any confusion that it a

' : Cadre supervisor 18 2.0 might rr,sult if the seven operating cordractors and varying number of con-

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AEC physician 16*

0.5 struction companies at N RTS organized independent operations. In connection AEC nurse 15 0.6 with its program, the division proudes film-badge services, portable survey

.,.-s 1 CA Support patrolman 11-0.5 instruments, fire protection, industrial medicine and bio-analysis although the

1. I j m Support haalth physicist It 0.4 responsibility for providing common services varies with the installation sizc bQY Cadre supervisor 9

0.7 and the extent of the operating contractor's health and safety programs.

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E J. l Support health physicist 7.4 0.6 Moreover the division provides environmental monitoring outside the immedi-y *, b Army support 5.0 0.0 ate fenced area surrounding each reactor site; the contractors help man the y W-W

• Region 6 radiological assistance teams administered by the Health and Safety b, 4'. dA. *.Estirnued exposure. -

Division.

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