ML20065T988
| ML20065T988 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Clinch River |
| Issue date: | 10/28/1982 |
| From: | Clay Johnson National Resources Defense Council |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20065T981 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8211030317 | |
| Download: ML20065T988 (45) | |
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BEFORE-THE UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD
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In the Matter of
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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
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Docket No. 50-537 TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
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(Clinch River Breeder Reactor Plant)
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TESTIMONY OF CARL J. JOHNSON, M.D.,
M.P.H.
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DATED:
October 28, 1982 l
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8211030317 821101 PDR ADOCK 05000537
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Q.1:
Please identify yourself and state your qualifications.
A.1:
My name is Carl J. Johnson.
I reside at 42 Hillside Drive, Wheatridge, Colorado 80215.
I am an Associate Clinical Professor of Social and Environmental Health at 4
the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Previous to my present employment, I was Director of the Jefferson County Health Department.
Additional background and qualifications are presented in my resume, attached as Exhibit 1 to my testimony.
Q.2:
What is the subject matter of your testimony?
A.2:
My testimony primarily relates to the NRC Staff's analysis of the environmental (health) impacts of the CRBR and its fuel cycle as presented in the NRC Staff's " Draft Supplement to Final Environmental Statement Related to the Construction and Operation of Clinch River Breeder Reactor," NUREG-0139, July 1982 (henceforth "DSFES").
Q.3:
Are Staff's (and Applicants') estimates of environmental releases and environmental contamination from the proposed
.CRBR fuel cycle as reported in the DSFES realistic?
A.3:
No.
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O.4:
What is the basis for your disagreement?
A.4:
Fir'st, Staff's (and Applicants') estimates of the 1
s
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potential releases of transuranics from the proposed DOE fuel fabrication and processing plants are based on confinement factors (defined as release / throughput) proposed by DOE (DSFES, pp. D-9, D-14, D-15).
These confinement factors are unrealistic, as evidenced by the r.eleases experienced at DOE's Rocky Flats facility.
Second, the DOE cannot be trusted to reliably estimate and report radioactive releases from its facilities and environmental contamination as a result of these releases.
Q.5:
Why do you believe the confinement factors assumed for plutonium and other transuranics at proposed CRBR fuel cycle facilities are unrealistic?
A.5:
The assumed confinement factors at the proposed fabrication plant appear to be based on arbitrarily l
reducing by a factor of 100 a theoretical efficiency of a bank of three HEPA filters (DSFES, p. D-9).
The basis for the confinement factors at the fuel processing facility is not stated -- only that they were proposed by DOE (DSFES,
- p. D-14).
As is evidenced by experience at Rocky Flats, accidents and leaks are the dominant release modes.
The theoretical HEPA filter efficiencies and laboratory test l
results for these filters are largely irrelevant.
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s s Furthermore, the methods of measuring the efficiency of HEPA filters are questionable and the results of such measurements are not a reliable indicator of the actual efficiencies.
With regard to the dominant release mode, during a major fire and explosion at Rocky Flats, all 620 filters in the main stack were blown out of the stack, releasing four years' accumulation of plutonium and uranium on the filters.
(See Exhibit 2 attached to this testimony, particularly references 12-14.)
Similarly, releases from chemical processing plants at the Savannah River Plant have been as large as two curies in a short period of time.
Further evidence that DOE proposed confinement factors are unreasonably small is found in the measured contamination at Rocky Flats, as compared to that projected or claimed by DOE.
This is discussed below.
Q.6:
What is the basis for your view that DOE cannot be trusted 1
to reliably estimate and report radioactive releases from i
l its facilities?
A.6:
I enclose a reprint of a 1976 Science article reporting a survey that I conducted in collaboration with the U.S.
Geological Survey of plutonium in surface dust around l
Rocky Flats, which is similar in many respects to the l
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4 propo9ed CRBR fuel cycle facilities, that is, the reprocessing and fabrication plants (Carl J. Johnson, et al., Science 193 488-490 (6 Aug. 1976), attached as Exhibit 3).
Despite the results of the survey, the DOE l
persists in using a soil sampling technique that includes l
l subsurface soil and fine gravel, a sample that yields misleadingly low concentrations of plutonium.
- Moreover, despite recent claims by the DOE plant personnel at Rocky Flats that air concentrations of plutonium around the plant were near that of " background," a separate monitoring system maintained by the Environmental Measurements Laboratory disclosed that plutonium in air levels at the plant has been the highest in the western hemisphere for every month measured.
(See Exhibit 4, attached to my testimo'ny.)
The large release of tritium to a stream that supplied water for the city of Broomfield in 1973 was not acknowledged oy AEC personnel for three months.
During that three month period, the people in Broomfield were not informed about the radioactive contamination of their l
water supply.
l 0.7:
Can the public rely on DOE monitoring efforts to ensure that future emissions of radionuclides from proposed CRBR fuel cycle facilities will not exceed projected levels,
4 and to ensure that frank and reliable information will be l
promptly released if evacuation of the public must be considered in case of accident, or to permit precautions to be taken in case of unexpected releases due to i
accidents?
A.7:
Judging from the prior record of the AEC (whose functions l
in this area are now performed by DOE, NRC, and the ORP of the EPA), the public cannot rely on the monitoring at such I
installations.
As noted above, during a major fire and i
I explosion in 1957, large quantities of plutonium and uranium, accumulated on filters, were released to the environment.
The public was told that " tests after the I
fire indicated no release of radiation of consequence,"
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despite a survey around the plant by plant personnel indicating high levels of contamination of soil at.two elementary schools, one six miles away and one 12 miles away, and on private land.
The plant resumed operation several days later without the benefit of monitoring of stack enissions.
It was operated in this manner until the 8th day after the fire.
Internal plant correspondence indicated that plant personnel were aware that monitors l
l maintained in the surrounding area were reporting plutonium in air concentrations at least an order of magnitude less than actually present.
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Q.8:
Did the Staff realistically estimate the radiation J
absorbed dose to the public due to gaseous effluents of plutonium and transuranic elements from the CRBR fuel cycle?
A.8:
As far as I can tell, the Staff did not report the dose to the public from transuranics.
The Staff only reports whole body person-rem dose commitment, which is inappropriate for plutonium and other transuranic exposures.
As noted above, DOE plants working with plutonium (e.g.,
Rocky Flats and the Savannah River Plant) have had large releases of radioactivity in stack effluents.
Excessive releases of radioactivity have not been limited to plutonium but include other transuranics and, at least at SRP, tritium and radioiodine, as well.
Transuranics in exhaust plumes from such plants can travel for many miles and, around the Rocky Flats plant, account for nearly as much plutonium at 60 km from the plant as from worldwide f al. lout, according to a report in Health Physics by Poet and Martell, who also reported several times as much plutonium from Rocky Flats as from worldwide fallout in the eastern suburbs of Denver, over 35 km from the plant.
Extremely small doses of plutonium have produced measurable effects.
A study of plutonium workers at Rocky Flats found that doses as small as 400 to 4,000 picocuries
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, internally have caused a 33% increase in the rate of chromosomal abnormalities in circulating lymphocytes.
This effect, compared to similar effects induced in uranium miners and in survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki who received large doses of radiation, indicate high doses of radiation at the cellular and tissue levels.
A recent report by Dreyer, et al. (attached to my testimony as Exhibit 5), supported jointly by the NRC and EPA, which served as the basis for one or more NUREG publications, has now been shown to be wrong.
(See Exhibit 6 attached to my testimony.)
The Dreyer report claims that doses for the public from DOE's Rocky Flats plant in Denver are at least five orders of magnitude smaller than is actually-the case.
(See Exhibit 4.)
The current DOE position on population effects downwind from DOE's Rocky Flats plant is that there would be less than one case of cancer expected in the next 70 years in the Denver area.
However, my study, funded by the National Cancer Institute and published by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences last year (Exhibit 2), and using federal data from the Third National NCI Survey of Cancer Incidence, found an excess of 491 cases of cancer in the Denver area attributable to discharges from the plant for the three-year period 1969-1971.
The net impact of the plant on the Denver area population could result in
r 4 an excess of 3,000 to 6,000 cases or more of cancer in the next 70 years.
i O.9:
Just how toxic is plutonium?
A.9:
The excretion rate of plutonium from bone is about one,
half in 200 years (see ICRP 2).
So, if inhaled or ingested, it stays in the body for very long periods of time.
As little as 400 to 4,000 picocuries, total body burden, in adults has been shown to cause an increase of 33% in the rate of chromosome aberrations.
Extrapolating to the fetus and considering differences in l
radiosensitivity and body weight (150 lbs./1.5 lbs. x 20/1), a body burden of 0.2 to two picocuries could induce a similar effect in the fetus and, of course, a smaller dose would induce a similar effect on a smaller fetus.
Because of the small number of cells in a fetus, the rapid rate of growth and the length of life span remaining, and the multiplicative effect of injuries generated in chromosomes and to cell metabolism, this dosage level would not be acceptable.
In actual fact, considering l
public health principles, and providing a safety factor in a dose for a fetus, a maximum permissible body burden could be placed as low as two femtocuries (0.002 pCi) of plutonium, and similar limits for other transuranics.
A large number of isotopes and transuranics are
. routinely released at the Rocky Flats plant and would be released by the proposed CRBR fuel cycle.
Additive and potentiating effects must be considered for all radionuclides in toto.
A list of 240 different longer-lived radionuclides routinely released by nuclear plants are listed in the April 1980 issue of Health Physics.
Doctors Morgan and Meyers independently suggested that the current estimate of toxicity of plutonium is understated by over 200 times.
A study in rats found that five nanocuries caused an increase of 10% in lung cancer in rats.
J. L. Park has found that doses of 80 to 90 nanocuries of plutonium in dogs can cause death.
Work by Cross, et al. (attached as Exhibit 7 to my testimony),
indicates that dogs are about 100 times more resistant to cancer per unit dosage of uranium ore dust and radon than man.
This may be extrapolated to exposures to plutonium, in which case less than one nanocurie could induce death in man.
Barr reports an investigation in which dogs were allowed to inhale one microcurie of various isotopes of l
plutonium, curium, or americium.
There were large 1
differences in the dosage to each organ, i.e.,
3250 rem to bone, 1320 to liver, 170 to kidney, 46 to gonads, 863 to lung, and 43,700 to pulmonary lymph nodes.
Other organs would receive appreciable doses as well.
Such dose
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. distributions to organs must be considered in making comprehensive dose estimates.
Every pharmaceutical house in the world relies on studies with dogs and other experimental animals in order to extrapolate toxicity to man.
Do the dose models used by the ICRP have an adequate base in empirical science?
A permissible body burden in man of 40 nCi (0.040 microcuries) could result in doses of 130 rem to bone, 53 to liver, 7 to kidneys, 2 to gonads, 34 to lung, and 1748 to lymph nodes, based on the dog studies.
But man may be 100 times more radiosensitive to plutonium than the dog.
Q.10:
Are the estimates of fatal cancers in the work force population reasonable?
A.10:
No.
First, NRC Staff [in the DSFES apparently has failed to consider the occupational exposure in the CRBR fuel cycle.
Second, although the DOE study of Rocky Flats plutonium workers (Voelz, et al.) appeared to claim that there were no measurable effects on plutonium workers, another study of cancer incidence found the ratio of brain l
tumors to all cancer among 3900+ Rocky Flats workers at the plant to be eight times higher than expected, compared to all Colorado white males.
The rate of malignant l
melanoma was three times higher than expected, and respiratory cancer was 25% higher than expected, compared
I
. to all Colorado white males.
The actual effects may be higher than these figures indicate, because of the well-known healthy worker effect, described for persons who are healthy enough to have a good work record, who are able to pass security clearance and a higher educational level.
L Q.ll:
Do current NRC/ DOE guidance limits for radionuclides provide adequate protection to the public?
A.ll:
No.
The NRC/ DOE would permit 10,000 picocuries of uranium per liter of drinking water.
Current EPA guidance limits concentrations of uranium in water to no more than 10 picocuries per liter based on estimates of risk to health.
The AEC (now NRC/ DOE) formerly would permit three million picoeuries of tritium per liter of water.
This I
was later reduced to one million pCi/ liter.
The EPA, which obtained authority in 1976 for regulation of drinking water, has reduced this limit to 20,000 pCi/ liter.
l O.12:
The EPA developed maximum permissible soil concentration limits for plutonium in 1977 (EPA 520/4-77-016).
How do you assess this proposed guidance?
A.12:
This guidance is inadequate.
Although still urged by the Office of Criteria and Standards of the Office of Radiation Protection of the EPA (OCS, ORP, EPA), it was i
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- not signed into law by President Carter and to date has not been signed by President Reagan.
The OCS, ORP, EPA is administered by a former AEC officer.
The EPA report 2 is sufficient that suggests that below 20 picoeuries/cm no remedial action is required of transuranic contaminated soils around any nuclear facilty in the country (including i
the proposed CRBR fuel cycle facilities).
However, this standard is ten times less protective than an Interstate Commerce Commission guideline limiting contamination of trucks hauling radioactive materials to less than 4.4 dpm (2 picocuries) of alpha radiation per square centimeter.
In other words, a child may play.near Rocky Flats on private land in soil containing 10 times more plutonium per square centimeter than is permitted for truck drivers hauling radioactive materials.
In contrast, the usual protection, or safety factor for the public, is to reduce an occupational concentration limit by up to 100 times, for very obvious reasons.
In other words, the child would not be permitted to play on the surface of his backyard if there were more than 0.02 picoeuries of plutonium per square centimeter.
Yet the EPA, presumably supportive of the NRC/ DOE, urges a limit of 20 picocuries per square centimeter.
The DSFES is inadequate in its failure to address the adequacy of the current and proposed transuranic standards.
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a u 2.
cca 3 3 m )
e ROYAL SWEDISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Cancer Incidence in an Area Con-taminated with Radionuclides Near a N Cl ear inStaIlatiOn western hemisphere 18p. The DOE station "a
s' ra'do-# '#d>8e=#a r>or'*-
plant has recorded an average concentra-tion of 2072 attocunesim' f aCi/mh of plu-R po'rtvA By Carl J Johnson,42 Hillside Drive, tonium over the eight year penod. com-e i
Denver. Colorado 80215, USA pared to 32 aCim' for New York City and 5 aCi,m' for the station with the lowest concentration 18L Anglo cancer incidence for the period 1969-1971 was evaluated in census The air concentrations of Pu obtained tracts with and without contarninstion by plutonium and other radionuc-from ambient air momtors are of dubious lides f:om the Rocky Flats (nuusar weapons) plant near Denver, Colorado validity, because. as Chapman states (1970 population 1 019 130). Exposures of a large population in the Den- "Although we mamtam air samplers in ver area to plutonium and other radionuclides in the exhaust plumes from neighbonng populated areas. these are not the plant date back to 1953. Cancer incidence in males was 24 percent visited daily because of the cost mvoned higher, and in females,10 percent higher in the most contaminated and because we found them to gise the suburban area (population 154170) (nearest the plant), compared to the same value as air samplers collected daily unexposed ares (population 423 870), also predominantly suburban, n site. The tamplers are visited fortnight.
which had virtually the same age-adjusted rate for all cancer as the state.
' hat t ejj nd e i as,
nv e-The adjacent study area more distant from the plant had an excess cancer incidence of 15 percent in males. The excess cases of cancer were mostly sure in case of an incident on the plant site. Consequently. dust loading restncts leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma and cancer of the lung, thyroid, the air flow and gnes an unrealistically breast, esophagus, stomach and colon, a pattern similar to that observed low computed value for air acrisity. To in the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The ratio of cancer of the transmit these values would raise ques-more radiosensitive organs to other classes of cancer was 12.2 percent tions of falsification of data in the mmds of higher in the area near the plant (17.6 percent in males,11.9 percent in lay readers because they are about an females). These ratios we' e not significantly changed with the deletion of order of magnitude lower than those re-r lung cancer. Cancer of the gonads (especially of the testes), liver, and,in p ned fr m the air sampling stations of females, pancreas and brain contributed to the higher incidence of all
'[,*]g, a(i e w7nd cancer in areas near the plant. The increase in incidence of all cancer and
- dd E D
,,g s
for certain classes of cancer in the exposed population supports the alpha active acrosols. these filters are less hypothesis that exposure of general populations to small concentrations efficient than the mdustnal HEPA filters of plutonium and other radionuclides may have an effect on cancer inci-through which the Pu particulates have
- dence, already passed.
Unusual releases have occurred, espe-A nuclear weapons plant Iwcapons com-There is a "dissemmation of the finest cially in major fires in 1957 and 1969 e 7. 8.
ponents and researchiin Jefferson Coun-radionuclide particles throughout the area
- 10. lit. Aserage measured concentrations i
ty. Cc/orado has routme!y released pluto-over a radius of several miles from the of Pu en exhaust plumes from the mam I
nium IPut and other actmides and radio-plant site" and "these smallest particles stack at the plant were as high as 948 nuclides in the exhaust from plant are not noticeably reduced m number by pCi m' for the eighth day after a lire and smokestacks smce 1953 (1). Plutonium is a gravitational settling to three miles from explosion m 1957. which blew out the fil-very potent carcinogen and considered the apparent point of ongm and presum-ter system al2-14L There are no records the most important nsk to health, and so ably reached much further afield" (5. 6L of emissions for the f even-day penod dur-is monitored on a regular basis. Release of Sampling stanons draw air from the fil-ing the fire and after. but those unmea-other actinides and radionuclides is tered nhaust stream through a collectmg sured releases may have been 4 to 5 checked less fregtently (1).
filter. An evaluation of filter efficiency in orders of magmtede greater than the re-While exhaust ducting filters-five high which two millipore filters were arranged leases recorded on the eighth day tan esti-l cfficiency particuhte air t HEPA) filters m in tandem disclosed a "large and 5anable mated 12 milhcunes. or about 200 mg of l
seneswffectn ely remove Pu particu-percent of the particles on the backup fil-Puisi2-14 The releases of Pu and other lates larger than 0.3 micrometers inmi m ter" 132-69 percentt mdicating an under-transuran cs m the 195711re ma) represent diameter from the ethaust stream estimation of Pu releases 15. 6L the most important exposure to the i
i13 000 000 m dady from the mam stackL Rouune releases of Pu m exhaust from population near the plant dunng the leaks do occur (2) and one report (I9721 the plant ranged from an annual aserage penod 1953-1971. "The 620 HEPA filters estimates "the number of mJnidual par-concentration of 0 03 picocunes or 0 06 m the mam plenum had not been changed ticles emitted from 776 Building to be on damtegrations per minute per cubic meter smce the) had been instal lcd four years the order of milhons per day" (3i. About spCt m' or dpm.mh in 1953 to 1.05 pCi or earher and mas has e contained mans kilo-half the parucles are below 0.1 mm 2.33 dpm m' m 1%2 iTable le compared grams of Pu sestimates range as high as diameter and behase hke gas molecules to a guidehne hmitmg Pu in plant exhaust 250 kg or about 15 000 cunen large (3L in addinon. small particles of Pu iPu to less than 012 dpm m' #9 Plutonium plumes of Pu-contaminated smoke from oxider and other alpha radianon-emitting concentranons in the air at the h k) the 150 foot high stack conimued through-nuclides can diffuse through the tilter Flats plant are conmienth the highest our the night Esewitnewo reported it to arrangement due to the constant tragmen-i l9%-199 m the LS Department of be s er) dark m selor. xo to 100 feet high.
tation and self cattenng effect of the Energ> + DOEl monstonng netw ork. w hwh blow mc soutn. cast and southeast # 12-alpha recod phenomenon iTable li i4i has 51 stations poutioned throughout the 14i 176 utm wt m u 4 T
=
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=
nn issem ines ises iner sens inne ines ines issa Estimates of the amount of Pu released o o3 oy
. 3.
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are based on a study which found that an Fem o 03 0 si o os oos o se aos o is i 21 7 75 o$
EU o$
$$ os li! o$
N' ij' average of 13 grams of Pu were deposited daily on the first-stage filters (15.16L The lQ jy j2 gja Q
- zg ge filters in that s) stem had been m, operation u
m o os o 22 o ao ais i a7 o s2 on a 54 no more than four months. and each filter U
f.
$ij
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l25 contained as much as 68 grams of Pu. The og g
gja g oa 2gs g so s c,a o 05 average amount ranged from 16.6 grams o
o ta a os o ss r oi t as o it u2 0 44 5 2J (26 days) to 42 grams (4 monthsL In one Aaa m L"
month the filters could collect 0.5 kilo-grams or more of plutonium of which 86 im 8 io, a o** eviama.a. ior m.= mum ow=
e** a.r c.o.ac airaoas ior suca aam m onwa s 0 i2 mw om....t.o, n.. #,o. o os oom,.ca.u.,a, issa i.em s.i m nn is ooo m
percent was water soluble. IPu mtrate) on wssa m3 a o 7 as smi
'"n
.ncomo
, n. iss7 s.oi i-ia o sa awaimi s.oi n-is. no umo.oc ences o e.i e.
oa s.oi ao due to nitrates Present in the exhaust t 17)-
to o ag a meio, n,*
When the stack monitors mere placed sai An hat.ru casas.o.a tas.ot ie-s.o,. 74 74 aomim saa on s.or is. 2ces io comim' m a an
. p.o
-ia. s 22 aomem'. s.
is-2s. o 21 aom/m' back in operation eight days after the fire.
the guidelines for stack emissions were esceeded by 16000 times for that day.
greater than a permitted release over a gw,.3,3,,3,,4,,,,,,ng the m n uh u s duct of suisding m taufrom Reference n.
50-year pencd.
An unknown quantity (14-20 kg) of Pu metal burned up in the fire. Burnmg Pu Resuspension of Pu-contaminated soil forms submicron sized particles of pluto-increases with wind speed to the 2.1 pow-nium oxide. According to a report made er and the ratio of Pu 238 to Pu 239 in-by the Atomic Energy Commission creases from about 2 percent (surface soil)
(AEC). these particles do not settle out to 20-40 percent in airborne soil (31). As from industaal ethaust plumes, and are so much as 50 pCieg of Pu in airborne soil has small as to move like metal fumes and do g \\
been reported in the area. A study of Pu not account for the pattern of soil con-es h" \\
particle size in the soil suggested that sing-tammation around the plant il8).
e n--
le Pu atoms and Pu particles with dia-There was concern about offsite con-smig j
meters less than the mimmum detectable tamination with plutonium by the fire, j y7 equivalent Jiameter 10.09 m) accounted,
However. only three offsite soil samples a
I for the majonty of Pu 239 and Pu 240 were taken q19). All showed contamina-activity in the soil (32).
tion by the plant. A soil sampic taken at Contamination of an aquifer under the
~ ~ ~ ~
the Ralston Elementary School 12 miles facility to 2.5 picocunes of Pu per liter
~
south-southwest of the plant contained (pCi<1), a stream leaving the plant site to o,__.._
12 000 dpm,kg of "possible enriched ura.
209 pCiik 1), and a nearby water distnct to mum" and a sample taken at the Semper n,,,, t g3,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,nio 2.29 pCi.1 has been reported (1. 33). Pu in Elementary School six miles east of the isopisthe rer sea contanunecen with pautomium chlonnated water is soluble to the extent plant contained 16 000 dpmtkg of "possi-dowawand from the Rocky Nets pient The o##s.te that a recommendation has been made ble ennched uranium"(Figure 1). A third
- d '*(*"""*gy***"*d *" "*'*"
- that the concentration limit be reduced sample from prnate property contained al At the Semper Elementary School; 1s ooo from 1600 pCisi to 0.16 pCil t26, 27). so 18 000 dpm.kg of "possible plutonium"
<neintegrecons per minute per kisogrom these concentrations of Pu are of concern These concentrations are 150 to 225 times topn*kg) d "p==*5e enached urea'u=~-
t 34. 35i.
U higher than Pu concentrations in soil from
- ", Elenwn Contaminated water is a significant had accumulated worldwide fallout from nuc-
.3 p,
, hie psutonium".1s oco denske on source of exposure for only a small frac-lear weapons' testing according to privete property east of the Rocky mets plant.
tion of the Denver arch pop _lation t11.
measurements of "backg ound levels" in The major route of exposure is the inhala-Colorado sod, or between 4200 and 6300 tion of airborne par'ecles of Pu and other j
times higher than the " background level" radionuclides by people living in the path l
t0.003 dpnvgi measured in South Carolina stored m several thousand corroded bar-of exhaust plumes from the plant. and ifor l
(20). These soil concentrations only.sdi-rels outdoors at the plant spilled out on those living near the plant). the inhalation l
cate the passing of a very heavily con-the ground between 1958 and 1968, and of Pu in resuspended surface dust. No tammated smoke plume containing very contnbuted at least 5.8 cunes to the reports of measured population doses large amounts of Pu and other actinides offsite contamination (30).
have been made, but work in progress and radionuclides. An official at the plant Concentrations of Pu in soil may be confirms the presence of Pu from the faci.
afterward requested a " crash" suiyey as compared to current v.4 proposed guide. lity odentified by isotope ratios m autopsy I
part of a nationwide AEC Project. repeat-lines for areas with in of human expo-specimens of persons m the area 1361.
ing a request in earlier telegrams for re.
sure. Only a Soviet standard of 0.44 dpm, There has been no pnor investigation of 2
ports "contaming information relating to cm. or 0 44 dpm g of soil Iby conventions health effects for residents of areas conta-radioactivity m the atmosphere and the is m the same order as the surface soil mmated by Pu.1Pu. an alpha radiation fallout therefrom, which is of direct in-concentrations of Pu m the major part of emitter. has a very slow rate of excretion terest to and must be known by the public the area studied eTable 2)122). An Inter-and is thus retamed in the body for many m order to evaluate dangers to hfe" (21).
state Commerce Commission guideline years.) Although Pu n present m esposed A large area downwmd from the facihty for trucks hauling radioactive matenah persons in higher concentration m bone i
I Figure li has been contammated with no-permits a concentration 10 times greater inhere the half-hfe n atmut 200 Searu topes of Pu and other radionuclides 122-(4.4 dpm cm L but n 10 times more pro-autopsy studies of nuclear plant workers 29L Uramum has been released by the tectne than a proposed Environmental have demonstrated Pu in a" organs Oh l
open burnmg of oser itN10 barrek of con-Protection Agency iEPAs guideline to Ammal studies suggest that etTects of Pu tammated fathe oil OOL in addition. waste protect the general pubhc e44 dpm cm 1. a may mclude leukemia, neoplasms of 2
lathe oil from the millmg of Pu metal guidehne that has been cntacized.
bone lung and incr. and genetic mjury w eio i=i 177 v
3 a
a tease 2. ou.denna concern.no contem. nation concentretiene of eiphe radiation (peuten umi for arese. sersed # 169.5 dpm.g and 0.05 dpm/g re-that prov.ee non to numan eneveure terem ne#erence 221.
spectisetp compared to a maximum con-centration of 26 times background for the AEC sursey. whid sampled subsurface c
aw, em as w o ai.Fenev Pwee -
ryp.
soil and coarse particles 2 mm in diameter
$l',,,
O Z Z,O'.',,
and smaller with the windblown matenal i181.
occwoet.oa ussa a coa 0 44 g.
aoy Data were retrieved from NCI automa-ted data processing tapes using a program 1
,v.c
.n.,
occoa. oa.,
o oos i sa ci a.ae developed by Berg and Finch (50p with an 3 38 Z'.c'7",.*.2.**[..a.a.
approach similar to that reported by Mon-co.ior.
occoo.n'*oa.'
son 151). and most recently utilized bY ss.ce w occa" **
us to c oi 2 20 iae orm ca-o ci 4 o co -i oaio c.
oe Blair. er al(52. 51). Age specific cancer
[.',*aZ',,",',"
rates for whites (excluding persons with
- '*g,g,,,
Spanish surname, because the population ee r.o.onoci.a of the area near the plant is virtually all 7.7",'O '
white. with few persons of Spanish sur-200 02 44 00
- surSce * **=-
Nehc namel were calculated for the Denver U,Z 7 #
Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area
- 'l,"l*l c'," ",c',.
(SMSAL and expected case numbers cal.
8 35 c
culated by applying the SMSA age-speci-
= ace 'n' fic cancer inciden.:e rates to the il corre-n t.ei.ca e ra. Poo..c a a
... a.co-.aa.a o, u s er en ia <a.i.oa seo
- a. a ano. o+w o
, g g"ja",, g ' g y *g*y
- g,,,,,,
sponding age group in each sub area, and ~
, g %,,
ce,a=
a.weea.aeroa ocoseen summing the r.coducs to obtain a stand-ardized expected inci ence (cases expec-ted/ area population) for each area. The number of cases of all cancer or the clas-138. 39L Conservative reports suggest that ses of cancer in erch area divided by the maximum permissible doses of Pu for METHOD standarized expcted incidence provided workers should be reduced to about 67 Cancer incidence data was acquired by a nsk ratio f observedlexpectedt pCi (trachiobronchial lymph nodesi, or census tract from the National Cancer In-Area IV, the unexposed population about 170 pCi abone) (40. 41). Inhalation stitute's tNCI) Third National Cancer (comprising the remainder of the Denver and retention of a few particles of Pu of Survey t 1969-1971) with the assistance of SMSA) had an age adjusted cancer mce respirable size i < 5 pm in diameteri could the Colorado Regional Cancer Center (48 - dence imales. 269 and females. 226 per exceed this amount (42). Lymphocyte SOL The incidence of cancer for each can-100 000) virtually identical to that for the chromosome aberrations in 18u workers in cer class was determined for census tracts state (males. 268 and females. 227 per the lowest exposure group (I-10 percent pre selected within Pu isopleth areas (Fi-100000)(48L The risk ratio for Area IV maximum permissible body burden of Pu. sure 1) with decreasing concentration of was assumed to be 1.0 and the exposed or 400 to 4000 pCi) exceeded by 33 per-Rocky Flats Pu fidentified by isotope ra-populations (Areas 1-111) were compared cent those of workers with no measurable tion in soil, based on an area-wide survey to Area IV. The population in Area IV n a
body burden (43), further supporting a (core samples to a depth of 10 cmi made predominantly suburban. as is the popula-more conservative estimate of the body by the AEC in the Denser area in 1970 tion for Area i nearest the plant, and thew j
burdens of Pu having potential health ef- (18. 24L Census tracts divided by an iso-two areas have a mean age more similar fects.
pleth were included in the area contaming (Table 3) than those of Areas 11 and Ill.
A preliminary study of leukemia and the major part of the census tract.
and so those tuo areas provide the most tung cancer deaths compared eight census The isopleths in Figure I are approx-important comparisons. Median mcome tracts around the facility with 19 census imate but useable in comparing the mci-and education levels of the study and tracts with a simdar population in the rela-dence of health etTects between areas with control populations were considered with tively uncontaminated part of the county decreasing environmental contamination the aid of 1970 census data (Table 3L m (a census tract is a small area designated around a point source of emission and order to weigh the possible importance of for statistical purposes in certam cities with populations that are similar in size. such associated factors as smoking, diet and in standard metropolitan statistical Area 1. within the Pu concentration range and alcohol.
areas-SMSA%in the United States). A 44b0.8 mdlicuries,km tmCi km L lies be-The population in the eight census higher age-corrected leukemia death rate tween 3 and 21 km from the center of the tracts in Area i nearest the plant was small was noted in the contaminated area (p = Rocky Flats Plant along the pnncipal wind and had had rapid development and recent 0.01) and the age-specific (45-64 yearsi vector. Area 1110.8 to 0.2 mCikm I ex-in-migration tan estimated population of I
death rat from lung cancer was more tends from 21 to 29 km and Area !!! 40.2 to 16000 in 1960. and 44 000 in 1970. dunng l
than twice as great as for the control area. 0.1 mci <kmh from 29 to 35 km.
which time the population of Denser did s p < 0.05) (44. 45). A preliminary study of The Pu content of soil reported in the not appreciably changet f 49L Area IV.
congenital malformations coded at birth AEC survey was used as a surrogate mea-like Area 1. is mostly suburban. and part found a rate of 14.5 per 1000 births for a sure of esposure through pathways other of this area also had a rapid growth m large suburban city near the plant com-than those that onginate from the soillie population between 1960 and 1970. The pared with a rate of 10.4 for the remamder an indication of the direction of esnaust evidence indicates heasiest exposures in of the county. and 10.1 for the state of plumes from the Rock) Flats Plant smce 195? Since there is a latent period for Colorado. a difference of interest (47L 1953L That actual exposures to radionu.
neaoplasmw many persons m the eight in order to determme if esposure of a chdes hase been much larger is suggested census tracts nearest the plant would not large population to a small concentration by a surse) of Pu m wrtace respirable hase had sufficient time m residence to of Pu and other radionuclides nad pro-dust to J Jntance of U km around the esNbit an cffect from est%ure to Pu an duced a mcasurable effect en cancer met-plant Concent*ation of Pu as much as miluense on caneer in idunee woutJ N dence. the following msestigation was W times greater than that m Colorado first appareni m the :args population.trca-conducted.
" background" concentr:. ten aere ob-with lower ute, et in.rr.cration f he et.
178 oram ot m m 4
1 a
e
u
Distaase Pluteasum Aagte Peeviaten Poseiacea Characteastics insasence of sanese someared to unesseseo peessation from neen, saCa tm Flats en teod Mese Female Median Meessa Medeae Age Mese Femase Total priassoa6 2 iWWuti Idtsta-lateme veers westor tien Cases Cases Casee years '
Meee Femase eat ene oe t-obs ens o e.1 oas ess e,arl Aree 1 3-21 m*
480-44
- 5 250 78 923 12 04
'O 895 25 8 29 8 644 5'9 " - 24% 636 581*
- 10*. t280. t tC C" - 16%
Area m 21-29 e=
0642 90 300 103 900 19 85 6 347 34 6 36 0 1C86 947**
. '5 % t t 54e t ?00 5 % 2240t2047*'.* 10%
area m 2h35.=
12-01 917 370
'29 530 12 69
'2 094 30 6 33 5 1078 CO - SS 1149<1t09
- 4 % 2227,2109 6%
arees bill 3-35 m*
450-01 292 923 3'2 350 12 22 9 66e 2508 2466" - t'S 2939 2790" - 5 % 5747 5256" - 9%
Area fy
- 35 era 0*
2'O 67*
2'3 'n0
'I 97 8 C55 24 2 25 9 1114 3
1260 0
2374 3
'acioeace Cata iemosceo case n a*oers ca.cu ated tv aces ing ine SMSA age soec+c
.a. Ret 48. tee %etana Cancer :estit.te s in to Natioca' Caacer Surwev u
w cancer acidence reees to tae correscoaciag age groves *n esca area and summing the products to octasa a stacarsted enoecteo sacidence acases espected area coou atione for each area The stuov areas are taea comoored to tne contros area " Angse ~ oncludes an era.te ences; those with Spanien surrame a
ime Methcuries per square mesometer, caicwated from Pu conceatrateas aa sod to 10 cm in oeom, sactuoing graves < 2 mm en osameter ses The oats is for fosse coov atoon 8496 a
del X ' d "' ' '* *
'O
- ere a
- secouestion s ae. c e sacaceace of caacer. and q
- 1 - 0 The n' usee ta the variance = noo 's a more conservative test resa the'co r
Maateo**aenstee E iS8s Use of a somewaat more conservative test oev' sed tv Professor Lars Ihrencerg of toe ua.wers.ty of Stoctaowa.
Z="-*
.o.o not cPange toe iewei of e ga.hcaace noted mere ano.n Taose 4 t a -gi a
"Criticas X was e at a 99% confidence 6 eve.
- Cr.ficas N vaive at a 95% coahoeace sewee u
e ooserwooiemoecteo - 16 E TOO comoared to Area fv tea u escosed pooveas.on n
Table 3 Census tract areas selected by decreaseng soil concentrations of Rocky Flats peutoniurn, Angle population siae. median income and education, and total incidence of cancer for 44 cancer sites, by sea, for the period 1988-1971(al Area s Aree G Area a Area IV 46-4 8 miliscuaethoonieter 0 5-0 2 mieheurieshs60 meter 0 2-01 ms#icur'es4ssometer-tunessesses Popusemea 75.250 Mate 78.929 Femaie Totaa 90.308 Meie 103.300 Feme6e Total 117.379 Mase 129.530 Femaae Total 210.570 213.19e (1970)
Caess Caese Cases Caess Cases Cases Mese Femene Sete ooseemodbo ose ficteos eas o.e 1 o,e 1 oca eso o,e 1 oos,eso o< e-1 ose 1 oos. een o, e-1 oesieno oe e-t ose-1 oos aos Luat and treaanus 109 82*
33 % 21 24
.12 % 23 %
209 143 " 46 %
53/48 10 % 37 % 1790 58 13 %
54/48 12 % T3%
174 51 Other neesse.
atory 20s13 54 %
- 3. 2 50 % 53 %
21/23 i9%
?. 5 40 %
0 26 26 0
2/5
'60 %# 110N 32 5
Leukemie 27 '9 42 %
14'17
'8% 14%
28/31
'90%
34/33 3%
39 37 34 9%
- 2/33** 58 *. 33 %
45 30 Lympnema.
Myeeeme 35 25 40 % 28.25 12 % 26 %
48,40 20 %
38 49 522N
+39 51/45 13 %
43/49 12 %>
0 59 56 Teague. Phe-avaa. Essehe-aus 17 > t 2 42 %
- u. J 100 % 53 %
43.18** 139 %
25/7 " 257 % 172 %
29/20 45 %
10/7 43 % 44 %
24 7
4:emach 22 16 38 %
11 14
'21 4 10 %
27i30 i10 % 27/32 s16M '13 9 30/32
'6 % 21/23 I9SI 17 9 34 27 Cosen.
nestum 100/68*
47 % 103,75** 37 % 42 %
144e t30 11 *. 178s160 11 % 11 *.
135< 135 3
152/143 6% 3%
144 146 Lower aae saiary th/5 800 %
7'10 130 % 13 %
23/13*
77 %
23,22 SS 31 %
19/13 46 %
19/21 ft0N 12*.
5 3
7 *e i3%
46 30 32./30 13 Peaeroes 20/22
'99 21i15 4CS 11 %
37< 41 a 10 *=s 35e 32 9% e39 39'43
'9%
Testis it'5 120 %
14/6*
133 %
15/7 114 %
59,48 23 %
66/52 27 %
63 Overy 34e27 26 %.
8/10
- 20 9 33/26 27 % 14 %
11st2 4M 23/29 121%s 117%s is 42 Thyreso 36 50 % 24/16 50 % 23 %
'7 20 s15 9 19/14 36 %
GS 27 20 Brosa 13/11 18 % 10/8 25 % 21 %
10437
'41 9 10/12 617 % t31 %
490'455 es 656,655 0%
3% 493 772 Other $.tes 257 235 9% 354 345 3% 6%
474,445 8% 632 625 3%
5%
AN Cancer 644s519
24 % 636 581* TOS '6%
1086/947'* '5 % 1954.1100 6%
'CN 1078 1000* ON 1149/1109 45 6 *. itte 1260 moFs GeCuiated Dv acoe eag tee $MsA age-soecd.C cancer a From tae Naticans CaaCF tastetute e NrG Nat oast CanCF su vey faciocace Cata Imoecteo Case au v
r acsoonce rates 'o t*e coreesocading age groups a esce area. and summ.aq eke oroducts to octa a a standaro' sed emoscted inc.cence sceses emosctecierea
{
occusat oas eor esce area Tae stuov a**es are t*ea compared to tee contros area Ang'e actuote aH ePete euCoot taose weta $capssa suramme 148:
i o, E-maea a
- popuiat'oa s re c = ec.ceace o' cance* and o + 1 o Tae I useo wata 'ae uriance - ano es a more conservative test than
'M-
-00 t,eMan,e aeme.,is.,
Orit. cat R va*ue at e 95% conhoeace ieve*
- fa#+cas N we ue at n 99% conhoeace evei
- '00 compared to Area sV 'ae w escosed pogu stica Percea' ages.a cereatkeses are aegative iess tasa espec' sos a
e c' coservet especteo -
Table 4 Angio cancer incidence by sea, ast4 by cancer site, en tfie Denver metropolitan area over a period of tfiree years (1969-19711 by areas of census tracts with and without piutomven soJ eontamination by the Rocky Fiats plant tal fcct of the inclusion of the eight census esposed areas represents more cases than with the largest study population For l
tracts nearest the plant with the remainder espected (both setest of cancer of the both sexes in all exposed areas.192 cases of Area 1is to understate any environmen-lung. leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma of leukemia were observed where 167 tally-related difference in cancer inci-sonly males). and cancer of the tongue. were expected. There was a highCr inci-dence.
pharynit and esophagus. colon and rec
- dence ofly mphoma and myelomain males i
tum. liver. lonly maless pancreas. only fe-in all esposed areas (134 cases observed!
l RESULTS malest gonads. thyroid lonly females) and 110 espected).
The total incidence of cancer for the pc.
brain fonly femalesi.
A most unctpected discovery was the l
riod 1%9-1971 is summanzed m Table 3 The incidence of lung and bronchial unusually high mcidence of cancer of the
(
for 46 cancer classes by isopleth area of cancer for males in Area I was about 33 testis (40 cases obsersedil8 espected Pu concentration. Compared to males in percent higher than for males m the un-throughout the exposed area I Areas 1-111) i I
the unctposed area I Area XVI. there was contaminated area 1 Table 41. This higher 153-551. The incidence of cancer of the o, ary was also higher 124"ri throughout an.3cidence of cancer 24ri higher in incidence perusted in Area !!(469 high-s males in Area 1. nearest the plant and 15"c cri. In all esposed areas 497 cases were the esposed areas.
l higher m A*ca 11. further from the plant.
observed where 383 were espected. for~
The mcidence of cancer of the colon IFor con 6dence lesels. see Table 3. co-males. For both sexes m all esposed and rectum was much higher for both lumn 10.1 II.e correspondmg *. lues for areas. 625 cases were obsersed where 503 males and females in Area 14427 higher ft"nales were 109 m Area I and 59 m were espected.
for both setest and for all espased areas Arc.: 11. and for both setes 167 and 10'r There w a signi6 cant eteewi. t9 e of 4812 eases obsersed ~11 espectedt The 9
the hicher incidence of all caneer in the cases of leukemia m females m Area 11]. incidence of cancer of the Incr. gall Nad-II9 OtRHL Pal 1
1 T
.m.
- e.
e ass==
Mame L
Age categer, 0 14 4 -44 45-M 55-64 65-74 FS -
IPeousassen Area L M 24 825 66 $32 31 39S 98 S2 8 351 24 092 S 750 12 662 3 148 5 683 1.785 3.175 ceasee csesses o eto-84 ee t
oe E
o< e E
- e. (
f o< e f
A4 stessee 20 91*
29 52 40
'26 71 64 185 147.127 278 194/149 270 169/130** 230 Lens aae treachus 30 0
535 14 13 37 37,25 64 34'31 SS 16c9 6 17 Lauhem*e 642 11 f329' 9
110 3
413 4
2/17 3
2/11 2
ivmonoma. mvemma 1'9 5
'973" 23 314 4
827 6
t/1 7 3
3/11 2
Stomacn 00 0
103 1
421 6
3.32 7
3,41 11 des 1 9
cosen 00 0
325 9
6S2 15 16,12 26 15/9 4 17 29/13**
23 Lever 30 0
0.03 1
003 1
- 3. 0 0
1/06 1
2/11 2
Penseees 00 0
1'06 2
335 to tes t 9
7/46 12 3/73 13 rossie t<0 2
8 32
'0 107 2
00$
1 1/0 0
0/0 0
Greest O 'O O
1'03 1
0<0 0
0/0 0
1/0 0
0/04 1
Thveesd 0/0 0
1/32 10 tal e 4
0/14 3
1/06 1
0/0 0
Seen 1/04 1
2/22 7
3'17 5
4/23 5
2/33 6
1/17 3
untaeura 0/0 0
0/04 2
3/14 4
4/56 12 11/3 9' 7
S/20 S
9emese (Peeviatea Aree I M 23 ese 64 433 33 113 99 552 6 777 23 319 6 140 12 983 4 031 7 $93 3 257 5 273 A4 slasses S/70 19 103:44 253 106/114 310 130/110 249 144/104 " 196 148/144 234 Lune and beenshus
- 0. 0 0
2/13 4
2/56 15 5/52 11 9/75 to 3/43 7
Lewhamie C/t 3 5
5/13 4
0/11 3
7/09' 2
2/11 2
1/25 4
Lymeneme. myeseena 1/07 2
19'7 0 " 21 1/07 2
9'24*
S S/21 4
11/3 t' 5
Steniash 0/0 0
1/03 1
0/11 3
2/33 7
2/16 3
4/80 13 Cosen 0/0 0
340 12 009 23 14/8 6 18 16/4 5 16 39/25*
40 Laver gig 0
0'01 2
010 4 1
0/0 0
1/0 0
2/0 0
Peaerees 0/0 0
2/03 1
2i22 6
9/43 9
5/32 6
3/49 8
overv 0,0 0
8'93 76 7/75 20 9'82 13 7/42 0
3/37 6
Geoest 0/0 0
34/34 tot 40/44 119 37/30 64 46/27' Si 33/30 49 Thve d t/c 0
12'8 3 25 3/26 7
4/09 2
0/27 9
4/18 3
Beam 2/f 8 5
3.20 6
1/07 2
2/19 4
2/11 2
0/06 1
unmaowen 0 <0 0
1rO 7 2
2/26 7
3/43 2
7/59 11 t/6 2 to Totes (Peowiatsen: Area L M 48 473 130 963 64 508 190 073 17.078 47 471 11 890 25 615 7.179 13.276 S 042 8 440 As stonese 25 < 16 44 165/123* 379 177/178 495 277/247' 527 336/251** 465 312/277 464 Lung ens ;
0/0 0
to/4 9 15 16/19 52 42/30 66 43/37 69 19/14 24 Lewtomie 4/69 16 18<4 2" 13 1/22 6
13/2 8**
4 4/27 5
3/36 6
Lymphoma. mveseme 2/24 7
38/14 "
44 4/22 4
17/$ 1" 11 10/3 0*
7 14/4 2**
7 Stomesh 0/0 0
2'06 2
6/32 9
Se6 5 14 10/7 8 14 10/12 20 casen 0/0 0
6'85 20 14 17 48 29,20 44 31/1g*
33 es/3s**
63 Levee 00 0
0/10 3
0/07 2
3eo 0
2/05 1
4/12 2
Peacrees 0/0 0
3e10 3
5/58 16 15/8 4 it 12/9 7 10 6/13 21 1/0 0
16rt S*
28 8/79 22 9/65 14 8/43 8
3/36 6
G,enees g 0.sg t0 0
35/33 102 40,42 8 119 37/30 64 47/28 " 51 33/30 50 Thyreed UC 0
13/11 35 4/47 13 4/23 5
1/32 4
4/38 3
Brom 3/22 6
S/34 12 4/25 7
6/42 9
4/43 8
1/24 e
untaewa 0/0 0
1/13 4
5/40 11 7/65 to is/9.7*
1s 12/9 0 15 tacieence Data lae itet 44 The Naieval Cancee institute s TNed haicasi Cancer siervey see o = caserved cases m Area i e= espected a moe+ of cases iactuae ausener o' cases
- Area N a popuistion m Ares 1/ copulation
- Area M u
tcl i en ene aweaoer of cases sa Area N
- o < 0 05
- o < 0 01 istandareged 2 test toe aermee epocosimeten to the emomiae peopoetion. ret 561 Table s. Anglo sancer 6ncidence by sea, age and by concer class. In the Denver metropoliten area over a pened of three yeart (1908.1971) by erees of eeneus teacts with and wtthout peutonium oeil contemeneteen by the Rocky Flats Ptent: Aree i sempered 9e Aree IV (Centroll (et der and "othu biliary" was higher in i338251) and os er 75 years (312/277). This A higher incidence of breast cancer was males throughout the three exposed areas difference was due principally to an ex-found for females in the age group 65-74 (779 higher in Area ll; for all exposed cess of cancer in males in the age groups years (46/27). This age specific excess in.
areas. 52 cases observed /31 expectedt 0-14 years.1544 years,65-74 years, and cidence was obscured when the data was Cancer of the tongue, phary nx. and esop-over 75 years. An excess incidence of all age-adjusted.
hagus was high for both sexes in all three cancer was also noted in females with no The incidence of cancer of the testis is stud) areas 189 cases observed!50 expec-significant exception. especially in the age again noted, with one case occurring in ted for males and 41 cases observed 17 group of 15 44 years and 65-74 years.
the small population (24 825) in the age espected for femalest Accordmg to the The higher incidence of all cancer was category 0-14 near the plant and none statistical test used, the remammg vanan-chiefl> due to cancer of lung and bron-occumng in the larger control population ces may be random.
chus, especially in the males. and to can-166 530L Ic the next older age category.
The strongest comparisons can be made cer of the colon in both sexes. The inci-15-44, eight cases were observed where between Area 1. a predominantly subur-dence was higher above the age of $5.
3.2 were expected.
ban area near the plant with heauest ex-Exceptions were an excess of cancer of With one exception (ages65-74L there I
posure. and Area IV. also predommanti) the lung and bronchus in males in the age were more cases of cancer of the thyroid I
suburban with little or no exposure and range 1544 years and cancer of the colon isi females than expected. and an excess of hasmg urtually the same age. adjusted in-in females m the age group 45-64 years.
cancers of unknown origin, especially in cidence rate for all cancer as that for the There was a higher mcidence ofleteke-the age range 65 74 years.
state of Col 0rado The nt.mbCr of Cancer mias. lymphomas and myelomas in both Investigation of the ratios of cancers of cases obsersed for these two areas m the seses m Area 1. In males there was a radiosensitive organs to other cancers three. sear stud) period are compared b) higher mcidence of leukemia in the age (Table 6) found higher ratios in the age and ses in Table 5 group 15-44 years of age al32.96 and of population near the plant. compared to For both seses. the general pattern is l)mphomas and myelomas m the age the unexposed population in Area IV l
that of euew meidence of all cancer m all group 1544 ) cars (197.3L in females.
( + 12.29. + 9.79 and + 3.49. respec-ai:e categones m Arca 1. with no ugnifi-there was a higher meidence of leukemia tively, for both sexes in Areas I Il and tant cwertion.Thcrewas an esceu of all in the age group 55-64 4 7 0.96 and of lim-Illt Males had a higher ratio near the sanser m the age group th-14 years (25 phomas and mselomas m the age groups plant.17.69 higher, than did the females Acrud 16 espestedt. 1944 scars il55 15 34 ) cars e 19 7.01. 55-64 Scars i9 2.4L 111.9 9 highers. Deleting lung cancer 70 24?e. 6 74 ) ears and 75 + sears t II 3 i L changed oni) sfightly the ratio of cancers 4
llt. 44 e.4 scars i:
i AMBIO VOL IO NO 4 lhti
- V y
e v
~
t
_ i
,e of radiosensitise organs to other cancers i.eae e. Anese censer incidence en the Denver eneere,oi. ten eres e,
p.,,ed of in, years al1.70 higher for both setes: 17.99 for M"""
- ' *** d '*"*"* **"'h
- "8 "e'h*"'P'"'*"'",'"
"'s centanunemen by ine neeny Fiats Piant:A: _
- u. of f
f tl b
d by
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,the reties o caneers o re 6esen teve e eens a to einer caneers y an males and iM,.; for femalen
,,,n the,ianuht DISCUSSION The incidence of all cancer in the sub-coww c.a**.
- ota=
mee ie. - SI - too uri'an area near the plant (Area 11 was sigm6cantl) higher than that in the unev r.im v
au ses me i2si n23 ine oi. i i
posed population i Area IV e w hoch had s ir-tually the same age adjusted cancer inci-Zl@
jj$
,$j lj'y
j a;;
i 1-2d sos 2227 tio2 ioss nu
- w.
dence as the state. Exposed Area 11. more distant from the plant. had a correspon-
- v 2'@
'y, g og j'y
,, g '
88**
(
dingly smaller excess mcidence of all can-is so soo ices sor s7, o ers r e..
l
'0
'O' 8
- 3 7 **
cer compared to Area IV. Area 111. most distant from the plant. had an incidence of 7
3$$
'js j'2
.,,,(
i all cancer slightly greater than expected.
- g y*,
y y
- og y
l 8
The data were corrected for age. sex.
n..aa
,.a. raon 'o aa.a.c,...o
, ae i -o a.m.
a.6a.
r
'.. coacc. or..a.wa.+,. we.a. -
race and ethnicity. Other possible con.
-..aa coac., on e. a #y.o.a. o
..t
- o..,..
stom,
.-.. weaa. ace ssi saa N ca aa co.oa d,o-a
'e, foundmg factors include urban-suburban e
d ei Cance, vac.a. ace o.e. from t,wo Nate.a ca.nce.in.e.to. T* ca,,,N,. tic,a.:,,, o,,Ca,nce, sac,.a,eace,,so,v,.y differences. income. education. air pollu-
,a.
,e 3,
Ta.,oos.,,,,,a 4,.iv co.,.,. coa
,,,,.., y,,
..aone ow ce@g. glat T*mo m.aa eno.,.u
- A a
o'.u.'*t*.va *** om..'
,. to,t* a.m,.a.oa.ic.....i..oo
. orom a.oao.ce a a
- "*a a.
o.
tion. occupation, smokmg habits, and 4,..n..........
r
.a e,.
a.
a,.. m a...m..
diet. Data were not available by census v ac ae; tract for smoking. dnnking and dietary habits, but these were assumed to be associated with income and education.
Area 11 includes the Denser urban core iFigure IL much of the low-income hous-higher cancer incidence than those two groups. Cancer of the lung. stomach, liv-ing. and a lower educational and income older urban areas. The method of age er, gonads, thyroid and brain also contri-level lusually associated with a higher in-adjustment (see footnote for Tables 3 and buted to the higher incidence of all cancer cidence of cancers but has a lower inci. 4) across the 11 age groups INCD should near the plant. The general trend of all dence of cancer than Area 1. a suburban correct for these age differences, which cancer of radiosensitive organs was clear-population near the Rocky Flats plant de-are minor between the principal compari-1) upward near the plant, but in some clas-mographically similar to Area IV (Table son populations in Area 1 and Area IV.
ses of cancer the numbers of cancer cases k Area Ill has an educationallesel slight-The higher age adjusted cancer incidence in each age category were too small in the l> higher than Areas I and !!. and slightly found in Area I was confirmed by age-three year period of the insestigation to
_ lower than Area IV. This area has the specific companson with Area IV, be statistically sigmficant.
highest income level. and has a higher The age-adjusted incidence of ali cancer Further indication that the populations cancer mcidence than Area IV. Differing was significantly higher near the plant. in the path of exhaust plumes of the levels of income and education do not due to shore cases than expected of a num-Rocky Flats plant have been affected is appear to be important as a cause for the ber of individual classes of cancer. includ-provided by an examination of the ratios higher incidence of cancer in areas near ing those noted to be in excess in the of cancers of radiosensitive organs to the plant.
survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: other cancers. compared to that ratio for Area 11 has more air pollution than Area leukemia. lymphomas and myelomas and the unctposed population in Area IV
- l. but has lower cancer mcidence than cancer of the lung. thyroid. breast. ITable 61. These are the cancers found in Area 1. w hich is nearer to the Rocky Flats esophagus, stomach and colon Cancer of excess in the sursivors of Hiroshima and plant. In considenng occupation. the dis-gonads (especially the testis) liver pan-Nagasaki: leukemia. lymphomas.and inbution of Rocky Flats Pu workers creas and brain also contributed to the myelomas, and cancer of the lung. thyr-approumates the distnb'ition of popula-higher incidence of all cancer in the areas oid. breast. esophagus. tomach and co-tion between exposed and unexposed near the plant. The classes of cancer lon. These cancers occurred in greater populawns ilL Old radiom mill tailing found to be in excess are for the most part proportion than expected in the esposed.
sites are located in Area II. under streets those developing in the more radiosensi-population i12.2r*c higher in Area i for and parking lots and in commercial and. tive tissues of the body. There was not an both sexes: 17.6% higher for males..md industnal areas. and may cause an accu-excessise incidence of bone cancer. 11.9% higher for females). His ratio de-mulation of radon in rooms in a small perhaps beca'use of its longer latent creased in Areas !! and Ill for males. but number of non-residential buildings. This penod.
persisted for females. The exclusion of I
would appear to have no noticeable etTect The remarkably higher incidence of lang cancer ibecause smokmg habits are on the results of this investigation (56).
cancer of the testis in the three exposed an important factor in lung cancer) m.kes The higher mcidence of cancer in males areas ments special attention. One possi-little change Ill.77c higher for both setes accentuates a ses difference noted for the ble explanation is the demonstrated pro-in Area 1.17.99 higher for males, and unexposed population and for the state. pensity, of plutonium to concentrate m 13.6c higher for femaless.
This is partly due to the smoking habits of gonads t53-556. The higher incidence of men. Pulmonary irntants tic cigarette cancer of the ovary is also consistent with smokes can result m a greater respiratory this hypothesis.
CONCLUSION depoution rate of small inhaled particles.
That the age. adjusted rates of all cancer A conservative analpis of cancer mei-such as Pu particles 157). Smokmg habits near the plant are higher is confirmed by dence in the Denser SMSA over a three.
alone can not account for the pro 6te of an mspection of agewpecinc cancer mci-year penod 11969-19711 found a higher m-clawes of cancer found m excess, escept dence for Areas I and IV t fable.4 This cidence of all cancer m areas contame-for respiratory cancer.
was due m part to higher ageopecific inci-nated with Pu. compared to the unes-Area i had a population with a younger dence of leukemia. ly mphoma and my elo-posed area. The conu tenc) of the m.
mean age than Areas !! and lit ithough ma. and cancer of breast. colon. and can.
crease m incidence of all cancer and for not quite as young as Area IVL but had a cer ute unnnown for certam ageopeci6c certain categones of cancer with merea -
181 otuto twi l
}
v
--- ~,.
...m.
-, ~ - -
A
- e s
e Ing Concentration of Pu in soil supports 12 S Chme. H Halme. Pre.Tnal Statement. Cml Ac-V Archer. R Bisthne. A Lslienfeld. somasse cell twn Nw 75-M-Ilit. ??.M-li62. and 75-M 1296 s hromosomr ead spesum s ell estolaev rhantes sa the hypothesis Ihat csposure of the gener-
,,,,n, to,ied States Dntnct Court for the Disenct Ammaas cuposed to 221 redoa sad 219 plaromem.
al public to low concentrations of Pu in of Coiorado. Denser Colorado.19'8s Progress Report. Departmens of Energy Contact No E 12902s 3639. iRockmell Internatenal.
Operaiwnsi,a6cidems and radiation exposure es-Rocky Flats Division. Health Sciences Group, 1) the environment may hase un effect on p,,,,,,,n ihe L nned Siaies Atomic Eners) cancer Incidence. The higher incidence of Commnswn. Iv4 MY?U. WASH 1992 ILaited Golden. Colorado. lY76L cancer in the areas near the plant wcre 5tates Depanment of Energo washmston. DCs.
- 44. C J Johnson. en fra redmes of the 105th Amasal 14 The repon ut msesosanon of senous mcident m Merime of the Amerrwa rabist Health Assoria-due to more cases than expected ofIMe-Buisomp 77: on Seriemtier II.1957 Dom Che-sma. washmston. DC t1977:
mia.1)mphoma and m)cloma and cancer me"i Comraa). Lnated States Department of
- 45. C J Johnson. m Prus cedmes e/the 145th Nassoaal Mertme of, the Amenraa Assorsatmafor the Ad-j B o.,,, A,,,,n,,,DC. t95st Enetgo washington.
of the lung, thyroid. breast. esophagus. i, i, mea rso,m e : Houston. Texas.1979L
,n,,,4
.,.,, fli,,rme ad stomach and colon, a pattern similar to use sa=pe=e. 8=ld>ae ni # Rocky Flats Plant.
- 46. 3 P Foa. C E Hall L R Elveback.Epidemmlorv.
Golden. Colorado. March 14.19@.
Maa sad Descase. (The MacMdian Company.
that observed in the survivors of Hiroshi-R w wcodard. Platoae.m perramlare stadses oa Co#her-MacMdlan Linused. London.1970L 16 ma and Nagasaki. Cancer of gonadu cspe-samuer suures Ao J *Bedd.n nlu(dier pse
- 41. C J Johnson. in Proceedmes of the fsrst lateras-m % Roch Ran Mam. Mm GM.
rW Nm m he MW N m.
cially the testis) liver. pancreas and br in J"anuary 27.19'I p.
a Austna.1978s.
contributed to the higher incidence of all F P G Hagan. F J Mmer. Meier-udahle almsomam
- 43. Thud Naimnal Cancer Survey: Incidence Data.
Cancer near the plant. Further study is
- Wr** fihers CROL 940355-a 6The Rocky National Cancer instnute Monograph 41. Depart-ment Health Educanon and Welfare No. INate.
warranted to pursue the investigation of F,la,is Plant. Golden. Colorado, November i1.
i 0i nal Institutes of Health: 75-787. Unned States poorly understood. complex dose-effect is P N Kren E P Hard3. Plusoamm sa sod erowad Department of Health Educaten and Welfare.
the Roih fluss Plaat. H ASL 235. Umted States ePubhc Health Service. National Instnutes of relationships between the concentrations Aiom c Enerss Commis.on iThe Rocky Flats Health Natenal Cancer instnute. Bethesda. Ma-of many radionuclides in ce!!s and organs Plant. Golden. Colorado. August 1.1970t ryland.1975L and the incidence of cancer and other 19 5 E Hammond. Derarmmarum of wmemenersea 49 Census tracts imnally contaned about 4000 inha-rema Am h flers pluar m ser rauroas latenm botants, but nom are often much larger. The somatic and genetic effects in general Report IThe Rocks Flain Plant. Golden. Colora-boundanes of the census tracts are estabhshed populations residing near nuclear installa-do. March 13.195si sointly by local committees and tne US Bureau of 20 H R McLenden. O M Stemart. A I Bom. J C the Census to achaeve some homogeneny of such tions.
Carre). K w McLeod. J E Pmder. #Proceedmes population charactenstics as econonuc status and
.4 she laserautumal Atomsr Encres Assorsarma hvmg conditsons. Detaaled demographas data are SM.lv9 85s avadable from the US Bureau of the Census for g
w g,,
21 ? Ager. in a teiegram so F H Langell requestmg a each census tract. Data used hete mere pubbshed
- 1. Drah Envronmental impact Siatement. Rock, crash sursc> iThe Rock) Flats Plant. Golden.
in: Umted States Bureau of Census. Populaten Flats Plans Site.1545.D #Unned States Energs Colorado. Arnt to.195m and Housms: 1970 Ceases Tracts. feast Arport Research and Development Admmistraten. Goa.
- 22. J R 5eed. K W Calkms. C T llhies. F J Mmer.J B PNT ### 56 Denver. Colorado Standard Metro-den. Colorados 1977L in proponion w Pu 2W Owens. Commerrec ci olassam ot smiles els = rihen pohtan Staustgal Area. stnned States Govern-staken as 1.0. on the baus of radioactiutu the und carromadeae Laesed 5saics Atomu Enerrs ment Pnntmg Office. Washmston. DC.1972t amounts released of some of these are amencium Commmam tassetterne er Aarh flers Colors-tBooki 241 i0.6:1. Pu 23810 02L Pu 240 IO :t Pu 241 do Report RFP.lNV.10 (Dom Chemical Com-50 J Berg. The Colorado Regional Cancer Center.
e5 256 protoactimum 234 (0.961, thonum 231 pany. Rocks Flats Plant. Golden Colorado 19'2L Denver. Colorado. Natenal Instnutes of Heahh so.05s. thonum :3410.96s. uramum :34 a l 49i. ura-23 S E Poet. E A Martell. Nestrh thvssrs 23. 537 grant No. CA M729-01 II9791. Personal commm-mum 235 to 05) and uransum 2s8 to.96i ale. The i 19'2 t erstroa progeny of these auchdes mill also be present 24 P N Kret. Neutrh P8nsu s 30. 20911976L
- 31. R R Monson. Composers ead 8somederal Ac-Other radionuchdes hkely to be emnted from time
- 25. C J Johnson. R R Tidball. R C Severson. Srscore reerrh. 7. 325 e 1974t to time melude uramum 233 and 239. curtum 244.
193. 4aA i19'65.
- 52. A Blair. P Decoufle. D Granman. Amenras neptumum 237. thonum 228. radium 226. cenum 26 C J Johnson. R R Tideali. R C Severson. Srstare JomrnalofPahla Nest:4 69. 508 e 1979L 134 and 137. iodme 129 and 131. ruthenmm 103.
196.1126 t i977L
- 53. D D Smith. 5 E Black. Artmsde concentrarmas a rhodium 103. nebmm 95. Zwcon um 95, strontium 27 C J Johnson. Journal o/ Amentas Medust Asso-sessmes from rattle ers:me mese the Aor&T flats 89 and 90. zmc 65. cobalt 60, potasuum 40 and narna 137. 2286 e 1977 plear. NERC.Ls.539 36. #Natenal Envuonmen.
phosphorus 30 and ther progeny. An estimaled 28 C j Johnson. Offuse dssinhatam orplusemum m tal Rewarch Cenier. Enuronmental Protection 100 cunes of intmm are also released annually in the respesMe Just <m the ser(su e of the sod en the Agenc). Las Vegas. Nesada.1975L the euhaust plumes from the piant. along enh an on tats of the Adi4, Flurs Pfaer iThe Jefferson $4 D Green. G E Homells. E R Humphreys. 3 Ven-unknown quantity of other radsoectne gases and Count) Board of Health. Lakewood. Colorado.
nart. Aarare 225.17 e 19'S t volande substances 19 " 8
- 55. J J Russell. A Lmdenbaum. D Grahn. Non-homo-
- 2. J A Havden. H M Baker. R A Lmk. Parrule n:e 29 C J Johnson. Dustnhutuon of Cesnam 137 m the eenous destnbeten dplatomam m mouse restes souh ses. pistoneem cude m Buddme M4 c/f7m,s surtes e resperaMe Juss m the insmtv uf the Roch e Deuseon of Bological and Medical Research. Ar-e asr assar the fissum trert method. Dom Chemica; Flats Plaat Fmal Arp wr IThe Jefferson Count >
sonne National LaDorator). Argonne. Ilhness. re-Report No 317.72105 Dom Chemical Compans.
Board of Health. Lakemood. Colorado.19'85 ported to the Radiaten Research Society.19'6s Rocky Flats Plant. Golden. Colorado 2401.
- 30. Omnibus ens wonmental assessment for the
- 56. K Nemman. Aorts Vonassa Xen. Denver. Col-19?2t Rocks Flais Pbnt if the Unned States Energy orado sMarch 18.1979t I
3 J A Hasden. Peartute sa:e analvus m Saddme 771 Research and Des elopment Adminiuraten.
- 57. G A Farchdd 5 Stutz. D L Corrin. S=(une and c(Last aer. Dow Chemscal Company report No.
iRock, Flats Plant. Golden. Cowrado.1975L cfTerss on the deposeren of redicarrn e acrosol m ES-376 A4-il8 Dom Chemscal Compans. Rocks
- 31. G 4 5ehmel. m iransm tums ar steenone on AorL, the resperators trare of emmes pegs. eUmted F/wrs 8ntr r 2.mc. Ecological and Envronmental States Enuronmental Protectson Agency. Natson-Flan Plant. Golden. Colorado 80401.1974t e
4 W J McDomell. F G Seeley, M T Rsen. Neutre Rewarch Meetmg t RA km ell Internauonal.
al Enuronment Research Center Research Phisu i 32. 445 il9'*
Rwks Flats Plani. Golden. Colorado.19" Tnangle Park. North Carolma.19?!t
! J A Hasden Parterle ute anah us m 8madme Un 32 L M M6Domell. 5 % whwker.Nralth P4ssus 35.
38 G % Snedecor. W G Cochran. Statssseraf Mer4-c/Acet aer sDom Chemical Compans. Roc k) 239 s iv'se als Siuh Edition. toma Siate Unesersay. Press.
Flais Plant. Golden. Colorado 2 401. 19'2s 31 Colorado Depenment of Health. Umted States Ames. loma.19'6L
- H Nshols. Sanc esperts of orraan and emrea-Atomw Eners> Cornmnsion. Em b Fless Plan, 59 5 E Fm6h. in Radsei m Ariconk. Proceedariss of mc perruculaic tr msport es Aor h Flats un Trans-Em mmmanuel Sun ediam e Snemars Aeporr
'he Snth Inxernational Congress of R mansion Re.
s actions of Meetmg on Rocky Flats Buffer Zone.
sThe Coltwado Department of Health. Denser, search. eToppen Pnnt.ng Company. Lammed. To-Ecolog can and Environmental Research Meetmg.
Colorado 19'3s k s o.19'9L Rockwell Internaisonal. Rocks Flats Plant iP O 34 R P Larsen. R D Oldham. Sucm e 201. 1006
- 60. The author would hke to acknemledge the asus-Bos 4h4. Golden. Colorade po408.19"t a 19'Ni tance of the Colorado Regional Cancer Cemer
- Reuem of the Euhauu An Fdtenng and Air 54m-25 K J Morgan. in a letter to the Rock) Flats Monito.
stalTiDr John Berg and Dr Jack Fmchs. Nanonal pling Buddmg "I 1 Rocks Flats Enuronmental nne Commmee. e l2' State Capnel. Dens er. Colo.
Cancer inunute grant CA 170h0. s ho developed i
Mauer File. The Rocks Flats Plani. Golden. Col-rado.19'9' the computer program to retnese. collate. and l
orado 80401.1963s
% J Cobb. Lanenn) of Colorado School of Meds-age nust cancer inadence data by census tract s L E Toonkel. H E Feels. R J Larsen. Audamn-cine. Dens er. Colorado e 19'It s Persemal nmimm-from the computer archnes of the National Can-rl,dri ved are< c metals m sortui e err m Enuron-an ata=
cer inunute's Third National Cancer Surve> of mental Quanert> of the Enuronmemal Measure.
3* % D Norwood. C E Nemion. Nrnt:4 Phs in s 2s.
1969-1971 the Dnisen of \\ stal Statisucs of the ments Laboratory etnned States Dep r' ment of
- 19' *
- Colorado Depanment of Health; Kathryn Van Enerst Nem )ork. Nem York Iml4 19'9* pp 3a Pr.ai redmes of Puhhi Nra mes em prus, men = as./
Deusen. w ho asusted the author unh the anaisus r
C I,lM eerhre trans.oramam r/rmcors Volume 1-111. No of the data. Mr James T Manm. the prow 4:3 9 T S Chapman. Correspenden6e io Dr %ihan ORP CbD '?-l sl aned States Enuronmental stauuical support: James J Dotle of the Laned woodruff cofwernmg plutomum sstmp%g tn 4 r Protectiosi Ageric> % asnifigton. DC.19*3#
States Geological Surses. who asusted with the
< T he Rmks Flats Plant. Golden Co6orado 39 J \\ aughn Pins.msne-4 p.nuhir Jr.4cmu, nit figure-and Drs Calamell. 2ack. Stutzman. Ehren.
Feburars l'. Imh eThe Bone Research Labor 4 ion. Nuffield Ortho-berg and othen who reuened the manuscnpt.
On M A Thornpson. D D Ho nbacher. Moninis arJ redw Centre Osrord. England.19*6e The work was supported b> grant CA 25729 from Ann 441 Enuronmental Monnonna Repons iln 40 D S Msers. Nr ith Phun s 22. 9p? ilv',2s the Naisonal Cancer inunute. Nanonal insinutes K 2 Margan. 4mfru ne ladastnul #s e ene.4 n.-
of Health Thn paper mas ongmall> presented at a ncJ States Energ, Research and Desciorment 41 Admmnarati.in Ro6k3 Flats bolden. Colorado s ens =m /. real. p sh* il9'*t sesuon sponsored bs the Occupanonal Heahh sina01 19'n-19'S i 42 C J Johnson. m Prm trdmes of the 11 th inifres-and Safets. Ensaronment. Epidemiolog> and R4 18 isrmre P.ns Sepsember 12.195* iDenser Col.
te. mal C.merco
..# the /=rcenutumal A,d,asam deplogical Health Secuons of the Amencan Pubhc ur.dio Also reporieJ m the R = As it..n=#am Pe..#e, eum 4w autom pp 2. *41 s Pans.19"t Health Associaisoit. ai the 10'th Annual Meetag
\\f 4 s iSeptember 13 I9D 4.% % Brandon. A Bloom. G $4ccomanno. P Archer.
in New York. N Y. on Nosember 7.1979 l
18:
AuBio voL io No. 4 1
N
- d l*f,"$d$167vou.m.,p.48a.490 SCIENCE hkNt2 (cari J.u
)
i Plutonium Hazard in Respirable Dust on the Surface of Soil Carl J. Johnson, Ronald'R. Tidball and Ronald C. Severson l
l CopyrightC 1976 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science l
~
m 1 l.'
~
Plutonium Hazard in Respirable Dust on the Surface of Soil ated by Rockwell International for the Energy Research and Development Ad-Abstract. Plutonium-239 in thefine particulate soilfraction ofsurface dust is sub-ministration (ERDAL Activities at the ject to suspensium by air currents and is a potential health hazard to humans who plant include processing radioactive may inhale it. This respirable particulatefraction is defned as particles s 3 micro-chemicals and making weapons from ru-meters. The respirablefraction ofsurface dust was separated by ultrasonic dispersion dioactive metals (2).
and a standard n ater-sedimentation procedure. Plutonium concentrations in this The Colorado State Health Depart-fras tion of of site soils located Joe.mindfrom the Rocky Flats Nuclear IVeapons ment in l913 proposed an interim stan.
Plant IJefersum County. Colorado) were as much as 380 times the backgros.nd con-dard for soil contaminated with Pu. set-centration. It is proposed that this method of evaluation defines more precisely the ting the maximum allowable concentra-potential health hazard from the respirable fraction of plutonium-contaminated tion at 2 disintegrations per minute per soils.
gram (dpm/s)(3). Land with Pu concen-trations in excess of the standard would Methods of evaluating Pu inventories accidents in January 1966 and January require ameliorative treatment before in soils are important because of the pos-1968, respectively. Evaluation of Pu (1) residential development could be ap-sibdity of sod contamination near Pu in the soilis of specialimportance in con-proved. However. the standard fails to processing plants and nuclear generating taminated areas that are now considered define " soil." Either single or composite stations and areas where Pu has been ac-for residential development. One such samples of the soil at a depth of 0 to 0.5 cidentally released-for example, at area is in the vicinity of the Rocky Flats em from numerous locations in a devel-Palomares, Spain, and Thule. Green-Nuclear Weapons Plant (Jefferson Coun-opment area are required. Because such land, where Pu was released in airplane ty, Colorado), which is currently oper-samples include soil particles much too
~'
large to be resuspended or inhaled, the possible risk to health cannot be proper-ly evaluated (4). Further, no provision is made to prevent the treated soil from
' Broom field j
being recontaminated by redeposition of Q
\\
/m
/
Pu from more highly contaminated soih
/ M MIF upwind. This redeposition mechanism P
y"ocD potentially exists because winds in the
- J
- r-area exceed 30 kmlhour for 500 to 600 l
("]* g hours yearly. Wind speeds commonly l
f "bs t
\\
reach 130 km/ hour or more. with wmds
-+
oeveicoment blowing predominantly to the east and l
areas southeast toward the Denver metropols-
"I l
tan area (Figs. I and 2L i
The plant is located about 16 km north-i west of Denver and about 8 km from the g
y 5'
cities of Boulder, Westminster, and Ar-
~
,, ~
vada. Approximately 200.000 people live within 16 km and 600.000 people within westminster 32 km of the plant. Residential devel-i 1
N opment is now proposed within about 5
^
km of the plant (Fig.1), involving as m
many as 3000 homes or a potential popu-lation of about 10.000 persons (5).
I
/
Since the plant began operation in Arvada 1953. there have been two major fires are av m
(1957 and 1%9). a large release of Pu to
pa rt 3
off-site soils from a spill of metal-laden f
cutting oil, and an a:cidental release of N
wes Denver 8
i j
/
Pu to the air in 1974. The major sources l colorado l
- '* *
- M 's of off-site contamination are considered L*'#
to be emissions from the 1957 fire and the Fig.1. Rocity Flats Nuclear Weapons Ptaat and proposed housing development area. Isopleths oil leakage from corroded barrels of con-are labeled in disintegrations per minute per gram of whole sod, calculated from values in (2).
tammated cutting oil that wcre stored
- e.
~
outside beginning in 1958 (2. 6). Al-The samples were washed and Altered to though leakage of the barrels was first de-remove soluble salts and dispersed with tected in 1964, storage in this manner
's a 300-watt ultrasonic probe for 15 min-continued t,n'il 1968. The oil-spill area 30j utes (8).
has since been partially covered with as-Particles were separated according to s
phalt.
o*
\\
size by a standard water-sedimentation A survey of Pu mventories in off-site technique (9). Sodium metaphosphate soils mas conducted by the I-lealth and
'2 4
was added when necessary to avoid floc-Safety Laboratory of the Atomic Energy h/
[_
culation. The suspension containing the Commission in 1970 (2). The results are g
w.
e/
/
freeze-dried (10).
he sedimentation i
/
desired size fraction was collected and used in Fig.1. An off-site area of more than 50 km had concentrations of Pu in
'., _ ~
8 technique is an arbitrary measure of the excess of 10 mc/km. Soil samples were
/
" effective" diameter of particles with ir-8 N
s collected to a depth of 20 cm which was
' % ' f ', -
regular shapet that have settling rates considered sufficiently deep to account cm 2%
equivalent to those of spheres of the for the total deposition of Pu. The Pu in-same diameter and density. The thresh-ventory was based on the weight of the old parameters used were based on parti-whole soil sample, including plant parts Fig. 2. Rose diagram showing average direc-cles of plutonium oxide having an effec-but cxcluding larger rocks.
tive maximum diameter of 5 um and a 953 s
ni n d re i n d Contaminated soils must be measured wind movement; velocity (miles per hour) is density of 11.46 g/cm. The soil particles 2
against a background of Pu released dur-given at the end of each arrow; concentric cir-separated include other mineral grains ing atmospheric wcapons testing. Of the cles show frequency of wind direction (2).
that have an equivalent maximum set-
.40 to 500 kc of Pu released worldwide, tling velocity, but that also have some about 10 to 15 ke is estimated to be pres-combination of smaller density and ent in the soils of the United States and Table 1. Analyses of Pu in respirable dust larger diameter. The size fraction thus less than 10 percent is still suspended in (size fraction s 5 gm in soil material s 2 deAned is hereafter called the soil materi-the atmosphere. In Colorado the back-mm) and in whole scel. In column 2 respirable al s 5 gm or " respirable dust" because ground level has been estimated to be dust is shown as the percentage of whole soil we assume this size fraction to be an ade-0.04 pc/cm or 0.08 dpm per gram of [2m p -of the rapirele h 8
Y
,e tgra w hole soil (7).
gram d material s 5 nm for Health 1)epart.
Plutonium concentrations are given m Samphng localities, each about 4 ha in ment samples these are averages of two analy-Table 1. The results shown are the aver-area were selected within proposed resi-ses. Relative enrichment (RE) is the ratio of ages of the determinations for duplicate dential development areas downwind measured value to background value.
split samples by two laboratones (1). Av-from the plant (Fig.1). Several sampling Health Depart-eraging the two determinations is justi-sites were randomly selected within each ment samples fled because a t-test indacates no sia in-g locality. In addition, one stream-sedi-Local-Respi-Pu in res.
samples (13) cant difference between determer ms ment sample in section 18 and one ity rable pirable dust at P==.05. Analytical ge--
w used sample of colian sediment in section 19 dust for Pu were those desetibed by Talvitie were collected. Within a 4-m' area at
(%) dpm/s RE dpm/s RE (f f, jy),
each site, when the ground surface was Serrion 7 Our estimase of background is 0.45 dry, a representative quantity of loose, 7-1 36.1 83 1s0 13.5 169 dpm per gram of soil instenal s 5 pm.
surficial (about 0 to 0.5 cm deep) soil ma-7-2 41.4 59 130 Samfes th mess immediately down-terial was collected with a clean brush h
i N k20 wind from the plant show evidence of Pu l
2%
l4d 176 3eo and a clean plastic container. This area S,crion is contamination considerably above back-provided a sufficiently large composite 1s-1 19.s 36 80 0.2 2.5 ground in the resperable dust. The sam-sample. All samples were compared Is-2 29.6 24 53 0.14 I.s piing area in section 7, which is about 2.4 against a background level estimated M[$
s"9 f) 3 km immediately downwind from the I
.8 from a control sample collected about 23 S,c,,,, j, plant area, has the largest amounts of Pu:
km south-southeast of the Rocky Flats 19 1 62.2 1.4*
3.1 59 to 170 dpm/s. Sites 7-3 and 7-4 are on plant.
19 2 46.3
- 2. It 4.7 0.23 2.9 the flat crest of a low ridge that trends The sarryles were analyzed in random 19 3 36.5 1.3t 2.9 cast from the plant, and sites 7-1 and 7-2 order so that any systematic laboratory s-l 47.7 t
2.4 0.05 0.6 are on the north-facing slope cf the same error would be converted to a random er-g.2 51.2 I.0t 2.2 ridge but about 12 m lower in elevation.
ror. The objective in sample preparation s-3 42.1 3.st s.4 Section 8, which is on the principal wind was to disperse the soil microaggregates 8-4 31.5 2.st 6.2 vector but about 5 km downwind, has I l
to expose the Pu as tr :h as possible.
y (,0 to 19 dpm/g. Althougli t. ample sites in 0.72 9.0 g
Each sample was sieved through a 2-mm s-7 37.6 II 24 section 18 are nearly the same distance stainless steel screen; only the material 8-s 33.3 7.7 17 from the plant as those in section 7, we
(
that passed through the screen was re.
s-9 24.s 14 31 0.72 9.0 measured less Pu there, perhaps because tained for analysis. Approximately 50 g s-10 25.7 19 42 i
section 18 lies away from the ptincipal of matenal in the size fraction s 2 mm 3j wind vectc,s. Section lu which is farther 9
was placed on a steam bath and treated Backgronad from the plant and from the principal with h)drcaen peroxide to oxidize the or-Control 48.9 0.45 1
0.0s I
wind vector, has the lowest values. Eo-ganic material particularly that present lian sediment (sample 19-1) that was de-
- Eoiian seemens trom sround surface.
tsample as gram coategs or cementmg agents. from recency esturbed ial.
rived from a freshly plowed field upwind
~
. 1 e
had only 1.4 dpm/g. The field is located mate resuspension factors (/5). These or from subsequent accidental releases in a zone of expected contamination factors are influenced by the moisture of radioactive material: and (iii) subse-about 3.3 km southeast of the plant area. content of soil wind speed, elevation quent disturbance of the soil by construc-Plowing tends to distribute the Pu above ground, ty pe of ground cover. and tion activity or cultivation by home throughout the plowed layer and reduce presence of paved surfaces. Mechanical gardeners may expose Pu particles at the its probability of entrainment for the disturbances such as those produced by surface again.
present, but it also creates a more ero-plowing, vehicular tratric, construction Useful data for evaluating the health sive surface until plant cover is reestab-work, or street sweeping can resuspend hazards of Pu contamination of soil may lished. Stream sediment coliccted in sec-surface dust. However, air-monitoring be obtained by determining the amount tion 18 contained 9.4 dpm/g. This sedi-data and resuspension factors do not ac-of Pu in the respirable-dust fraction (ma-ment could be susceptible to wind count for the total Pu hazard in residen-terial s 5 gm) on the surface of the soil.
erosion during periods when the stream tial areas (16). Some examples of other It would be more realistic to base interim was at low flow or dried up.
types of potential exposure t. Pu in the standards on the respirable-dust fraction The distribution of Pu in respirable respirable dust on the surface of the soil because the very small particles in this dust may be compared with previous de-are listed below.
fraction have the greatest potential for terminations by other methods in the
- 1) Children playing on the ground or suspension and inhalation, same areas (13). liowever, the different adults working outdoors can pick up CARL l. lOHNsON denominators used to express concentra- ' mud and dirt on their shoes and clothing Jeferson County #calth Department, tions make it inappropriate to draw di-and thus introduce dust into their homes. LaAcwood. Colorado 80226 rect comparisons between Pu in respi-Washing and drying of contaminated RON AL.D R. T D e A t t.
rable dust and in whole soil. The present clothes can release significant amounts RON AL.D C. SEV ERsON maximum allowable level in Colorado. 2 of dust through the exhaust of the dryer.
U.S. Geological Survey. Federal Center, dpm per gram of whole soil, represents Such a mechanism of exposure has been Lakewood. Colorado 60225 an enrichment of 25 times the back-demonstrated by the finding of character-am-es and N.e.
ground. level for whole soil (0.08 dpm/g). istic neoplasms in the wives of asbestos Corresponding enrichment factors based workers (17.18). Dust can also enter a
- 1.,Sagmsgana,lygfQQSN on respirable dust' are given in Table I: house through windows and ventilatmg Health Department and the Enersy Research for example, sample 7-1 contains 180 systems and be resuspended by house, and g y gmqn, Bah,,
g times more Pu in the respirable dust frac-hold vacuuming and other cleamng oper-ed. but values ransed trom 0.04 to 12.4 dans s.
tion than is contained in our background ations (19). Pets track in fine particu.
- 2. g,gpgand E. P. Hardy. USAEC rubt sample.
lates, which may eventually become air-
- 3. R. L. cleere. unpubhshed memorandum.
The surficial soil materials at different borne. These conditions can occur even [ c.J.Joh7:,n;,unpugshMNi starvaes oa fi,2 g7,eg'*er treas-urea =m sem Pfareamm sad O locations contain different percentages if a developed area has grass cover.
7,,y,g,arsja II"5 of material s 5 gm (Table I). The Pu
- 2) Children playing outdoors may eat P/c o
Agency, washms-concentration per gam represents a po-food with soiled hands and in other ways
,1yng,,Pr g
tential dose rate. This concentration is to inges't or inhale unusual amounts of dust.
- 6. S. E. Poet and E. A. Marteu scal:4 Phys. 23 l
be distinguished from a total inventory of Heavy-metal intake by this method was 7, pG[M o the Lamm.w rth Task Force S
2L respirable Pu. The greatest long-term found to be important in children with Rocky to the Colorado State Health De-hazard, expressed as the largest total in-lead poisoning who lived near a smelter
(*,E';,$"',;','s, 'N,' i($ N ventory, occurs at sites where both the at El Paso. Texas (20).
,,y,y,gdeysgg concentrauon per gram and the per-
- 3) Heavily used playgrounds tend to is. 47 o967).
i f
centage of material s 5 pm are high.
be dusty, and strenuous playground ac-
- y,R Dgy m erhods o{S l Anivs A
Several sampling sites appear to have tivity can result in suspension and m-undison. wis. 1965)g s. p. 545.
(
been disturbed recently by land-devel-halation of dust by children.
8" Q,*8','"c' N L'2it ' #"'"* f l
, 2 opment activity. In particular, sites 8-1
- 4) Local resuspension of dust may oc. I t. N. A. Talvme. Anal. Chem.43.1827 H970.
l through 8 4 lie in a zone wl cre elevated cur in the preparation and maintenance 0 t, g, f,@$N,,,,,es Laborarones.
I levels of Pu could be expected. These of domestic gardens. Plutonium that has Rxhmond. Cahf.. unpubbshed reports or smi samples have Pu enrichment factors of been plowed under before residential de-i4. u'"*'[*N 'n'p"s[afli D. D. Hornbacher. Dow (A mySA Rwky fiers &v. Publ. REP.F.JVV.
no more than about eight times back-velopment may again be exposed by dig.
L I
ground, compared with 15 to 40 times ging for gardens.
is. J. W. Healy Los Alamos Scs. Lah. Publ. LA background only 0.6' km closer to the The present regulatory code in Colora-
,g o$, ",8Ml$'d.momion"Es.ata do noi d
source (samples 8 5 through 8-12). Dis-do requires that soils with radiation con-corroborate the redistnbunon or resuspen.
turbance of the ground surface may ac-tamination that surpass the interim stan-
},'c" has oc"c'u'r"Nca"uYeYd nndYde"[y' count for this diminished concentration, dard of 2 dpm per gram of whole soil yaLereddo n or the local topography may have pro-must receive special treatment to reduce iDecember 19721. p.12.
pion. Am. An. Resper. &s. 103. 293 duced a fallout ** shadow."
the hazard to acceptate levels (7). Mix-
- 18.,P Estimates of health hazards from Pu ing the soil by plowing is presently ac-
- 19. N. M. Lercoe and I. i. Inculet. Aren. Eawraa.
g ('.S. vor6. u, rat utv. Rep. 22. 409 y'*g@,,
have been made on the basis of air-moni-cepted as one technique for treatment of toring data (14), measurements of total contaminated land. We believe that this u
soit inventories of Pu (2. 6). and measure-is an insufficient treatment because (i) 2 *'no'oQi $$*no,ro'"*o**eM7,fc7,*O U
c ments of Pu concentration on the surface plowing tends to displace the Pu parti-g6e dggsn4H,an d,,t j
of the soil (13). Air.monstering dats. are cles from the ground surface to some po-survey procedure; and to D L Bonomou.
ERDA.
ns S
e th of importance in estimating human ex po-sition at depth, but the Pu is still in the p
I sure through inhalation. and have been soil;(iis a treated area can be recontaini-anah ui tor plutomum used with soil-contamination data to esti-nated either from untreakd land upwind 17 February 1976. revised 27 Apnl 19%
l
(% k M N _
(CM d dt1 A 1
,r-
~
~
RADIONUCLIDES AND TRACE METALS IN SURFACE AIR C.
by Herbert W. Feely, EML Lawrence E. Toonkel, EML Richard J. Larsen, EML l
Since January 1963, the Environmental Measurements Laboratory formerly the Health and Safety Laboratory (HASL), has been (ggL) ;
This study is a direct conducting the Surface Air Sampling Program.
cutgrowth of a program ini.tiated by the U. S. Naval Research Lab-oratory (NRL) in 1957 and continued through 1962.
The primary ob-jective of this program is to study the spatial and temporal distri-bution of specific natural and man-made radioisotopes, and of trace metals in the surface air. Other special studies of surface air contamination have been performed during the course of the program.
I
_Sameline Sites and Collection Many of the original, NRL sites, which are grouped roughly 'along the.80th Meridian (West), have~ been continued in the current program.
Since 1963 a number of other sites have been added to investigate the elevation, proximity to coastlines,
- ssible effects of longitude, over-ocean effects and localized contamination. As specific studies stations are are completed, or as data appear to become redundant, It is expected, however, that the continuity of sampling terminated.
will be maintained at most of the sites.
The present network extends from about 71e North to 90' South.
Table 3a lists the sampling stations l
l C-1
T along with their coordinates and elevations, and indicates whether.
or not each is currently active in the program.
For the routine program, approximately 1400 cubic meters of ambient air'per day are drawn through a 20 centimeter diameter Microsorban or glass fiber filter at each land station.
At the ocean stations, about 2200 cubic meters of air per day were filtered by 20x20 cm Microsorban filters.
Most filters are changed on the 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd of the month, or more frequently if the
. filter becomes clogged.
At stations where filter loading is minimal because of the. low concentrations of particulates in the air, filters are changed only once a me. nth.
Such monthly changes were begun in September 1974.at Thule, Kap Tobin and Mauna Loa Observatory.
The filters are returned to EML at the end of each month.
Currently each filter is cut in half, and one half is included in a monthly composite sample which may be sent to a contractor laboratory for radiochemical analysis.
A two-inch diameter circle is cut from the second half of each' filter and monthly composite samples prepared from these circles are set aside, eventually to be analyzed for trace metals using x-ray fluorescence.
The remainder of,the second half is incorporated into a monthly composite sample for ga=ma counting and spectrometric analysis and subsequent retention for possible future work.
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.m e-e-.e-e 64 NOTES
/
==
. a,
.s, NOTES llee Feasibility of Fpidemiologic Studies of w
Pepstation Emp sure to Radinesen
\\_
l Cancer la Residents Near the Rocky Flats The Environmental Measwements Laboratory t m-Plani (FML. formerly llASL) of the Department of "r. -,)
E\\
- =*
ruu Energy conducted fwo series of environmental soit
'4'"
2 measurements savolvmg siles as much as 40 miles (Racw.ed 12 lamaary 1981; accepted 21 April from the plant (Kr70. Kr76A). The results of these T
7 i
1
~
1983)
So to
,3 3
' ' " ". ~
studies yicWed the isopleth maps (contours el
/"/.
[*.,- a s e equal '"'*Pu concenkalma in soil) shown in Fig D. Leakine cutting oil drums were determined so t e l
./.
N lasreduction the actual sowce of contamination which began in i
Tug Rocsi i t> a Puny is a governmentewned, about l%7. Krey later utiliced mass spectrometric K
l
- ~[
contractor. m 11 Department of Energy facil. analyses so separate plutonium due to global fall-l ty. Its prima., sanction in support of the U.S.
out frons that originating from Rocky Flats and
- ssense, Nuclear Weapons Program is the construction of reported two further contours at 01 and l
Lese weapons components from plutonium, enranium, 0.2mCikm
- tKr76HiruWr The last EU EMCI Fem. I. Saa samPams naes in sumk cemed 5
stainless steel, beryllium and other materials. In _ a so maintained four ambient air Sam rs in Colorado are deugnated by X. ne hr.: of ik the spring of 8%9 a serious fire occurred at the the vitimsy oTthe plant at various times. Two of i e4acens pair of numbers em the sine eciucienes plant. Concern that the fire had resulted in the she aise number. ne.ccend (ron-ns aw theng. git Yrdene<stwere PEintained as late as 1979 and are i I
release of signi6 cant arnounts of plutonium i nn Eie 1.
slash) represents the Rachy Flats gdutonium in prompted a series of environmental measure.
nhalation is the only sieninemat pathway for i mCE/hm' measured at the site. he heavy ments. These data indicated measurable levels of human exposure to plutoniune or other actinides. 4 l irregular hnea re8cet the inacancentration een-
'""Pu in the sod immediately east of the plant Therefore, airborne plutonium must be estimated ' l'.
l espre=of Rocky Flats pluaanium in enurs the it e
(Ma70s. If shcre were substantial population from 1%7, she estuntigd lime of inisial environ- '
0 1
2 ed as aCilkm' ne conceniric arcs espasure to plutonium, the most laely health menial contaminahon. Prior to the inicia6on of ai, miles rescei the cadial dniances r,,m ihe ceni,,.f ih, efrects would be bone and lung cancer (lla79).
sampling, air conceneration levels can be estimased Fn I. Plutonium levels eange from I to 2000 mci km 'estanated levels due to global fallout Rochy Flan p:ane.
Residents of Jefferson County, east of the plant from a sediment corg_laken from Standlev Lake. {
I.7 2 0.5 mCikm-', Source: Krey and flardy. IIASL 235,1970.
g are concerned about potential health cieces from liardy er afde~rTvM swo independent methods of 3ource: Krey, iri releases of radioactive substances from the Rocke dating the sections in this sediment core using the l Flats Plant. IIistorically, the area surrounding she deposition rate of '"Cs from global fallout and llealth Physics plant has been sparsely setried. In 1940, only 8"Pu from lhe SNAP-9A satellite (Ita78). From 30:209 (1976) 31.000 people lived in Jefferson County. Within a their date pro 68t and their measurements of the Table 8. Messared ""'*Pu deposition rate e' Standity f. ate and cakalated '"'"Pu air i
decade the population siie has nearly docbled,and
"'*Pu in strata from the core,it is possible so ca.c,,,,,gga,,1 EML site 4' by 1970. the county had appron.235.000 :esidents. estimate the air concfferations froen 1%7 so 1974 This rapid growth has led to increasingly vocal (Table 1).
p"'iersee
= ad*=t 8'e t='=**** **a l'ci..,
demands for assessment of the potential health These data may then be used so estimate the fy!) pip p,,, f % p,'L.,
rests from caposure to pluronium and other upgr limit of the e-dose to the tracheobron-radenactive substances.
~Thial tree and bone s_uf faces _(lla791. The estimales l ih An evaluation of cancer incidence could be assume that persons living in areas wit _h con-obtained through an epidemiologic study. taminated soilinhale the calculated c galations 8'*"'"
7~
lionever, before such an investigation is initiated, 'of plutonium on a c ~ '-
- or the pur.
Mr*
8 s3 =*='**
L *2 a'* ***
it is isnportani to evaluale she feasibility of obtain. pas tunahng a S&yr eafose it is assumed Mrs 2.se =en.e.a n.rt u%:etes p
ing an unambiguous answer of high st.atistical cer.
that the air concentrations as measured at site esir I si m es,ea a si u8c=8std fainty,ie, an answer that would precisely de6ne number d in 1975Jsce Fit ). n persist without asi Lir e n o btead
+
I the health risk from radiation eaposure. Feasibilityp reducamen for 50 vr and than air concenarahons nr.
i.ie a
e.ar usui.id i
7 can be determined by reviewing the m itud oj may be scaled from sampling site number 4 to e,rg a es a
/ e sr. 43 ulation exposure aW estimating M ow many other sites according to the ratio of the messured i
,.n a radiation-mduced gancers may be enr_ecied 8"'*Pu in soil. Fifty-year e. dose estimate for ein e4., t og er ggs Q,
so a. cur and~(Wthe statistical probabehty that the basal cells inJforschecbroachia8 s'e* *ad """
o useet n es va.>ir. isis.
occurr'ence of these entra cancers could be c
are s a m Table 2 se ass m) delected.
P F
f
- s. isis se ame e <*e er she sesn'i'** ata.
4>
65 b
6 L.
c.
Y
\\
u ltI
h:
NMES
~ - -..
NOTES p
68 sammation in Rocky Rats Sod,1975". IIASL.
ester than PE Ro?9)._S,gneraffA en,,epiJe
,, gh, g4
- Pu concros,,,,,,
Kr76h Krey P, R. IM6, " Remote Plutonium Table 2. 44 Yro Jose 6eginningin 1%7 fo erstimi cegs in,the trotheo6erinc h4.s acre and on pg ensD55
- g Contamination -i Total Inventories from bone surface from continuous inhalaten of she slatesMpgwer wa131)Mac studses of cancer in m
In conclusion,epiJeme Rocky llats". fleattie Phys. 30,209.
c e es w a s.se
.w.
residents near Rocky Flats ese not warranted due Martell E. A.1970,* Report on the Rocky s
Ma70 to the estremely low population caposme levels.
Bats Fire: Implicaitions of Plutonieme Releases I
(*'ls ** Y The increment in population radiaten esposure to the Pubhc Health and Safety",(GolJen, Co.:
taario. er
- a. D E6 ewtun from Rocky Hats es far below that from natural Favironmental Simlics Group, Rocky Dats s.s eroe background and from global fallout in thaa area.
e.s
.ree
~rono tace.43
'A Plansk Even if the BEIR risk estunates were too low by N,75 National Council on Radiation Protection an order of maganude, the statistical power of an and Measurements,1975. Nasarai saciground el e os epulemionagic study of lung or bone cancer would RaJiaraon is the ffasted Slales NCRP Report 45 ase 8 'i TS e.es (Washington. DC: HCRPk e aos be insulticient.
Ra79 Roshman K. J. and Boice J. D Jr. 1979, as e.sr to e.et
~ AcAnowdedgemenss-This work was performed in Fridemaalogic Analysis werk e Pergramma6te e aos part under contract NRC-794fe.
Calculator,(Washmaton DC: Nili PuNication e ear to e aos e eaos s
e oss
~
NANCY A DsEYEa 79-1649k e anos 3
t ANNE E. LDtEH1IN tte tr,e n.i in, se'un E
er tw sra n e,. se.
ta a.
u.+ ten
.to e tow e.s em Erier,*iosy Reso-es. inc.
an.wwe ai,w e it) e twlto et u s
O U.t.:."suC.i su..a :"1..
cne LC*
ro e,,57 en.wsm m
F,e *L '.7.s,:.t:."::.Ts.:
e.
r a.s Chestant ffill, Af4 02167 FaEf4sBC 11. Fansv 2M,1 *' ** * ***"* " * *
w i.
as e ete. a na mueree itw seits to.* rr.= trata '"
Nareerd Schoot of Public th.olth "d"*"'*-
Department of Eneironmentalifealth Sciences n
tal occurring rados daughtess. W Myr backgroundOI],,#j","* #
lang.terna Clearance of inhaled &lagnethe and 5
g N Aonst 11. Ilass EY of magnitude. flein exweeration is ofset some-dose to cells on bone safaces would be about from (fw Rocky Hata Plant (0,006 tem,and f,'s[iturfof En Afedirin F*'I'**
I E7, E
what by potential a 4fose from '"Pu and '"Am 3 rem (Na75k The corresponding absorbed a dose which are not included in theTaiculathms but ne t 00% rem, respectively) is very low en comparison MO & h ama As evident in TaNe 2, even at the location of to that of natural hedground over a 50yr period.New YA Nr 80016 (Recee.eed 21 Fe6ruary 19st; accepted 28 Aper 7 wound incicase he dose by stpuu0%
s 19:13 bi hest nium concentration in she soil Intr.derdan
~{2 em
), estimates of the 50-yr doses FessiblNay Etateatsen seceived by the basal cells in the tratheobronchial
& number of excess lung and bone cancers le n is tree and cells on tune sufsces are only 0.3 and can be estimated using BEIR models for cancer o hin a
e Am80 American Cancer icty,1950 CA-A dWMwmmph@gW e
I s mead respectively.
snostality from high 1.ET radiations, (Be80) and d for G h R 30 rases of clearance from this area. Specisc charac.
in addition to esposure from Rocky Flats, area cancer encidence, data from the Natenal Cances BEIR Committee,1980 N Efarts on wi e of k W h h h m k residents are also esposed to plutonsum from 3 0- Instnute's Survedlance Epidemiology and End 1
Be80 d
bal fallout. Krey estimated she mean plutomum Results Reporting Progrann (Am80). Usms the of E re e which they are cleared. For esample 5rshly sole.
half of the 248.000 g
levels from fallout in the Denver area to be 1.71 generous, assumption thatresidents m IcNerson County and as neighbor to ble particles may tw rapidly removed, while reta.
Academy Press)
JO MGin '(Kr768k Conssderms the vanaten en liardy E. P., Livingston II. D., Burke J. C.
fively insoluNe ones may be retained in the lung the east, Adams County, receeved Se masuneeni m descrdacd previously and and Volchok II. L,1978, " Time Pattern of for long penbds of time. Unfortunately, tre rela.
plutonium levels, an equal or greater fla78 fallout espesure from the Rocky Flats Plant would benecessary before one could disimgmsh the cause, organ doses o p uton uwere followed from fl 05-Site Plutonium Contamination from Rody tionship between clearance and most particle of any encreased disease occursence in the pope. cancers and 70 bone rancers would be espected to Flats Plant by take Sediment Analysis". U.S.
characteristics e s, size, shape
- density
- chemical Depr;of Energy Report EMI 342.
occur spontaneously en the esposed. According ej composition is not clear.
lation. A level of 5mCiken ' may be a more flarley N. II. and Pasternak B. S.1979, Recently,llalpera et af. (llall) described a rikg reasonable limit of the minimum esposure level BEsR absolute ank projection models, a dose o lla79 Ice study. Thes would deAne the area with "Potental Carcinogenic Efects of Actinides in study of the long terna clearance of neutron-FeO) from alm iungs of g cance simi rly the Environment **. Efealth Phys. Jy,291.
activated magnetite (Fe,0.,h with a new pragnetic
. Krey P. W. and liardy E. P 1970, "Plu.
ad >
dose of 1.s mrad to the bone omface would result donleys as measmed toand with an estaNnhed radek>gic s$ he pt t s a ies tomum sa Soil Around the Rocky Hats Plant,
Fmthermose, Colorade has one of the highest in less than one addisonal bone cancer case. N detecten IIASL 235 U.S, Atomic Faergy Commission. detection sechnique. As another asy et of that of natural background radiation in the espected escess number of cancers using BEIRKrey P. W.,liardy E. P., Volchok it. L, study, the donkeys were skauttaneously encased United States due to the high altitude and geolo-relative risk models would tv. no, dsfesent.Jh.
levels Kr76a i
statistical power for deters, tre, cancer Toonkel L. Knuth R., Coopers M and Tamura to an acrosal consisting of Sr tagged polystyrene 3 cal comp"sition of its terrain. Oves 50yr, thesegmental beonchiof the lung receive an o lone of against a badground of eithe _
6 yrould be T.,1976,
%i 4
.- =_
=
ff/
b b k b k (C.ul J. 1kas M
~
M.S. #82/384 17 August, 1982 COPMENTARY Investigations of Health Effects in Populations Living Near Nuclear Installations Carl J. Johnson, M.D., M.P.H.*
Recent American Journal of Public Health reports address health risks from " low-dose ionizing radiation", and refer to the controversy about the relationship between popula-l tion exposures to radiation and subsequent health effects. (1,2) Similar reports were prepared for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Government Accounting j
Office.(3-5) Nine " candidate populations" for investigations of radiation effects are listed (1) but the authors judge that "no single population can be recormnended for study on purely scientific grounds since the largest group offers only a small chance to obtain a definitive result", but "if social pressures and regulatory agencies mandate that such studies be attempted we would recommend prospective cohort studies of occupational popu-1ations". Such reconinendations may have the effect of doctrine when supported by several federal agencies, and the field of radiation protection is too young to be burdened with doctrine. Epidemiological investigations must continue to be initiated in populations around nuclear plants, even if on an empir.ical basis.
One such " candidate population" lives in the Denver area and actually comprises the Denver Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area. (6) Most of the people in this area live downwind of the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant (RFP), which reprocesses plutonium and uranium and manufactures weapons components. This " candidate population" is inaccurately depicted and the exposures sustained are underestimated by at least five orders of mag-nitude by Dreyer, et al, who calculate an alpha radiation dose of 0.3 millirem (mrem) over 50 years to the trachiobronchial tree on which to base their feasibility estimates.
(1) They later explain the chain of assumptions behind this calculated population dose in some detail (7), basing their estimates of population exposures downwind of RFP on an 3
average air concentration of 0.37 femtocuries per cubic meter (fCi/m ) of plutonium 239 measured in 1975 at the Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Measurements Laboratory (EML)samplingsite#4,eastofRFP.(8) The authors overlook a number of important ref-erences which add infonnation essential to such estimates. (9-29) The Energy Research and Development Adninistration (now DOE) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) states 4
(2-175) "as of 1975 the total site releases from RFP have been reduced nearly 1,000 times from 1965 levels". (9) Thus, the concentration of plutonium 239 in air at site #4
- Associate Clinical Professor of Social and Environmental Health, The University of Colorado School of Medicine. Medical Care and Research Foundation,1565 Clarkson St.,
Denver, CO 80215
y,. _
Page 2 17 August, 1982 f
Commentary was about 1000 times higher in 1965 and would be a more realistic data base for esti-mating exposures to people in the Denver area than would the air concentration of plutonium in 1975 selected by Dreyer, et al.
j An internal official report indicates that alpha radiation releases from the main i
exhaust stack alone may have been five times greater than indicated in the EIS report, suggesting that air concentrations may actually have been 5000, not 1000 times greater.
(6) EML site #4, selected by Dreyer, et al for their data base, is more distant from the usual direction of the exhaust plume from the plant than site #1, which was monitored i
for a longer period (1970-77) by EML and consistently had much higher concentrations of plutonium in air, over six times higher than the average concentration at site #4 se-lected by Dreyer, et al. Further, the air sampling filters are less efficient than any of the four to five individual industrial filters through which plutonium has already passed, and because of dust loading and other problems may actually understate plutonium concentrations in the air by an order of magnitude. (6) The exhaust plumes routinely emitted from the Rocky Flats plant in 1965 passing through the Denver area (the most coninon direction for such plumes) may have contained concentrations of plutonium 300,000 l
times greater than the air concentrations selected by Dreyer, et al as a base for their extrapolations of population radiation doses downwind. One investigation (1977) reported i
concentrations of.50,000 fCi of plutonium per gram in air-borne soil. (10) With a con-3 servative assumption for this dusty, windy area of 1 gram of soil /m, this is about
]
135,000 times greater than the concentration used by Dreyer, et al for their population j
doseestimate.(1,7) A three hour exposure to this concentration of plutonium 239 in air would equal the 50 year exposure estimated by Dreyer, et al.
The accidental releases of plutonium are more important than the routine releases.
(6,11) Dreyer, et al refer to " plutonium-contaminated cutting oil that leaked from a i
storage area within the plant" after 1968. (1) In a subsequent report, Dreyer, et al state " Leaking cutting oil drums were detennined to be the actual source of contamination, l*
which began in about 1967". (7) Actually, this source of contamination began in 1959 and was a problem until 1968.(12) Much more serious was a fire and explosion in 1957 which blew out all 620 industrial high-efficiency particulate air (hepa) filters in the main exhaust system at RFP. (13-16) The filters had not been changed in the four years of the plant's operation. The rate of accumulation of plutonium on the filters was de-
- scribed in several RFP reports and a single filter could accumulate more plutonium than 4
the EIS acknowledges RFP releasing throughout a 24 year period of the plant's operation.
(15,16) Most of the plutonium on the filters was water-soluble plutonium nitrate (17),
l which would not be represented by a core sample of sludge on the bottom of a nearby lake, upon which Dreyer, et al depend for air concentration estimates. (7) The plutonium l
monitors in the main stack were reported to be not operating during the fire or for one
- Page 3 17 August, 1982 Comentary week after, but for the eighth day following, recorded an average of 948,000 fCi/m3(the 3
usual daily volume from the main stack is about 13,000,000m).(15)
A' clandestine survey by RFP personnel after the explosion and fire found over 5400 fCi of "possible enriched uranium" per gram of surface soil in the schoolyard at the Ralston Elementary School,12 miles southwest of the plant, about 7300 fCi per gram of surface soil in the schoolyard at the Semper Elementary School, 6 miles east, and about 8200 fCi per gram of surface soil of "possible plutonium" on private land (plutonium concentrations were not reported for the schools). (18) This 1957 survey was unknown ~
outside the D.O.E., N.R.C. and the Office of Radiation Programs of the Environmental Protection Agency until a report was published last August by the Royal Swedish Academy l
of Sciences (6), and is not cited in the reports by Dreyer, et al. An additional 12-20 kg of plutonium in glove boxes were burned in the fire. An RFP report notes that burning plutonium forms sub-micron sized particulates in air, that these particulates do not settle out readily from industrial exhaust plumes, and do not account for the pattern of soil conta'mination around the plant. (19) The same coment would apply to the accu-mulation of filtered uranium, plutonium and americium on the exhaust filter system which blew out in the explosion, and to the routine releases of plutonium, uranium, americium and other radionuclides in the plant exhaust. These actinides and other alpha radiation emitters are subject to the alpha recoil phenomenon, described in 1977.(20) The highly hergetic projection of alpha particles from alpha emitters produces an energetic recoil which drives off single atoms and groups o~f atoms from the surface, with the effect that t
small particles of plutonium, uranium and other alpha emitters are continously sub-divid-ing and self-scattering, can migrate through banks of hepa filters and do not settle out l
to any great extent from industrial plumes, but can provide a risk of inhalation to per-I sons in the path of those plumes.
Dreyer, et al take inhalation as the only significant pathway for human exposure to plutonium and state "therefore, air-borne plutonium must be estimated from 1967, the es-timated time of the initial environmental contamination" (7), in contrast to their earlier I
reference (1) to complications by "other sources of radiation including radium and uranium in drinking water, radium waste deposits in Denver, global fallout, high levels of natural background radiation and tailings from radium mills and uranium mines". These possible l
sources of radia...n have been shown to be not significant, except for two census tracts with about 7,000 people who have had drinking water contaminated with high levels of uranium from a uranium mine for nearly 20 years. (6,21)
Dreyer, et al report "considering the variation in fallout plutonium levels, an equal or greater exposure from RFP would be necessary before one could distinguish the cause of any increased disease occurrence in the population". (7) The EML report on concentration of plutonium in air utilized by Dreyer, et al also gives data for New York
Pag 3 4 17 August, 1982 Commentary City (fiYC). The tiYC data probably approximate levels for plutonium in world-wide fallout from nuclear weapons testing, although there is more precipitation there than in more arid parts of the U.S. such as Colorado. (8) The average concentration for the 8 year period 3
reported by EML for fiYC (1970-1977) was 0.03 fCi/m. The air concentration of plutonium relied on by Dreyer, et al for their dose estimate is over 12 times higher than from world-wide fallout and would appear to satisfy their criterion for exposure. The average concentration for plutonium 239 at EML site #1 near the usual direction of RFP exhaust 3
plumes was 2.37 fCi/m for the years reported (1971-1976), about 80 times the fallout level.
Another key link in the chain of assumptions required to develop risk estimates is the radiotoxicity of plutonium, which has aroused controversy. Two leading experts in the field independently suggested that permissible exposures to plutonium be reduced by over 200 times. (22,23) Their viewpoint is supported by the results of a chromosome study conducted of nuclear plant workers. (24)
If pemissible limits were to be so reduced,156 fCi would be the maximum pemissible body burden for the public and the maximum permissible lung burden would be only 70 fCi, (allowing a protective factor of 100 in relation to permissible limits for workers).
The clinical data at the bottom of the chain of assumptions on which dose estimates are made must be carefully reassessed from time to time. Animal studies are important.
A study of radiotoxicity in which dogs wir~e~ allowed to inhale one microcurie (1 uCi) of plutonium 239 produced the following doses: 863 rem to lung, 43,700 rem to pulmonary lymph nodes, 3250 rem to bone,1320 rem to liver,170 rem to kidney and 46 rem to gonads.
(25) Similar doses were produced by the inhalation of one uCi of americium 241, plutonium 238 and 240. Assuming that a person absorbed the sub-micron plutonium in air inhaled at 3
the concentration on which Dreyer, et al base their estimate (0.37 fCi/m ), and assuming an annual ventilation volume of 7,000 cubic meters for 50 years, a person would inhale 3
130 x 10 fCi or 130 picocuries of plutonium. Applying the organ doses from dog to man 6
(being conservative) from 1 uCi of plutonium 239 x 130/10, a person would receive about 112 mrem to lung, 5.7 rem to pulmonary lymph nodes, 422 mrem to bone,172 mrem. to liver 3
and 22 mrem to kidney. However, the 0.37 fCi/m data base grossly understates actual exposures.
Though Dreyer, et al focus on exposure to plutonium 239 in air as a basis for their dose estimates, in fact uranium 234 alone accounts for a greater proportion of alpha radiation released in the plant's exhaust. (9) Americium 241 and plutonium 238 from the plant may be more important than plutonium 239. Plutonium 241 accounts for more than 8 times more radioactivity in the main exhaust plume than does plutonium 239.
In addition, j
a number of other radionuclides other than actinides are released routinely and
,6 Paga 5' 17 August, 1982 Conuntary accidentally. Higher relative activity may make certain radionuclides of greater im-portance in air exposures than their concentration relative to plutonium in stack exhaust might indicate. Thus, plutonium 238 released from the main stack in a ratio of 2/100 ' to plutonium 239, 240 has been reported to account for 20 to 40% of plutonium in air-borne soil. M1)
A conventional approach to studies of health effects around a point source like a smelter or nuclear plant is the selection of study populations within concentric circles at arbitrary distance intervals from the plant site. A better approach selects one of the toxic substances released by the plant and utilizes isopleths drawn cn the basis of the measured soil concentration of that contaminant in order to select aggregates of census tracts for study. (6) However, the concentration of the single contaminant measured in soil cannot somehow be taken as a measure of actual inhalation exposures of persons who at times are within the plant's exhaust plumes, and breathing contents of the exhaust plumes. The Atomic Energy Comission measured soil inventories of plutonium to a depth of 10 centimeters and published an isopleth figure indicating contamination of the Denver area with plutonium extending across the city of Denver beyond its southeastern l
limits.(26) Such core samples which include fine gravel do not get at levels of con-tamination of plutonium in surface dust or windblown material on the surface of soil, as described by reports in Science. (27,28) Studies of surface dust on private land found concentrations of plutonium to be as much,as 3,390 times higher than background levels j
in an area where A.E.C. soil samples indicated plutonium 239 concentrations only about 30 times higher than fallout levels. (6) l Estimated exposures of Denver area residents to plutonium 239 from the plant were l
compared by Dreyer, et al to alpha doses to segmental bronchi of the lung alleged to be about 140 rem over 50 years from inhaled naturally-occurring radon daughters, and a dose to cells on bone surfaces of about 3 rem. (7) However, EPA estimates those doses to be only 300 mrem to the whole body for 50 years (6 mrem / year) and to endosteal cells, 1.2 rem for 50 years (24 mrem / year) for the average person in the U.S. (29) The ambient levels of uranium 238 and its progeny in air are really not much higher in Colorado than elsewhere, according to the EPA. For the year of July 1974-June 1975, the average con-3 centration of uranium in air-borne particulates in the Denver area was 0.08 fC1/m. (29) 3 The national EPA network sumary for uranium was 0.05 fCi/m. (29) Some of the uranium l
may have come from world-wide nuclear weapons fallout and some from nuclear installations l
such as RFP (as described by the RFP EIS). This view is supported by the measureable levels of fissionable uranium 235 in air-borne particulates, which in Denver accounted 3
for 0.005 fCi/m. (29) These levels of " naturally-occurring radionuclides" in air are not important in comparison with the much more radiotoxic plutonium and americium, but are part of the rationale for a local control population.
Page 6 17 August, 1982 Commentary Discussion of feasibility and statistical power of proposed investigations of health effects in populations around nuclear plants and other point sources rest on a chain of assumptions, and the assumptions which provide the foundation for dose estimates are absolutely critical in any evaluation of the feasibility of such studies. The weight of evidence indicates exposures of the Denver area population to radionuclides from RFP are more than five orders of magnitude greater than those assumed by Dreyer, et al.
I urge that an attitude of rigorous and critical scientific inquiry be applied to each link of the chain of assumptions upon which risk estimates of radiation exposure are developed, and upon which nuclear agencies place reliance in the promulgation of their doctrine concerning radiation hazards.
References (1) Dreyer NA, Loughlin JE, Friedlander ER, Clapp RW, Fahey FH: Choosing populations to study the health effects of low-dose ionizing radiation. A J P H 71: 1247-1252 (Nov. '81)
(2) Dreyer NA, Friedlander E: Identifying ~ the health risks from very low-dose sparsely fonizing radiation AJPH 72: 585-588 (June '82)
(3) Dreyer NA, Clapp RW, Covins SJ Jr. et al: A study to determine the feasibility of conducting epidemiologic investigations of the health effects of low-level ionizing radiation. NUREG/ICR 1174, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comission, (1980)
(4) Dreyer NA, Kohn HI, Clapp RW et al: The feasibility of epidemiological investigations of the health effects of low-level ionizing radiation. NUREG/ICR 1728(1980)
(5) Anon: Problems in assessing the cancer risks of low-level ionizing radiation ex-posures EMD-81-1 U.S. General Accounting Office (1981)
(6) Johnson CJ: Cancer incidence in an area contaminated with radionuclides near a nuclear installation. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm Ambio 10:176-182 (1981) reprinted in Colorado Medicine 78: 385-392(1981)
(7) Dreyer NA, Loughlin JE, Fahey FH, Harley NH: The feasibility of epidemiological studies of cancer in residents near the Rocky Flats Plant, Health Physics 42: 65-68 (January 1982)
(8) Toonkel LE, Feely HE, Larsen RJ: Radionuclides and trace metals in surface air.
Environmental Quarterly of the Environmental Measurements Laboratory, U.S. Depart-ment of Energy, New York, N.Y.
10014(1979)
(9) Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Rocky Flats Plant Site,1545-D. United States Energy Research and Development Administration, Golden, Colorado (1977)
(10) Sehmel GA: In Transactions of Meeting on Rocky Flats Buffer Zone.
Ecological and 1
Environmental Research Meeting, Rockwell International, Rocky Flats Plant, Golden, Colorado (1977)
,.J Page 7 17 August,1982 Comentary (11) Colorado Department of Health, United States Atomic Energy Commission: Rocky Flats Plant Environmental Surveillance Rcports, The Colorado Department of Health (1970-1980)
(12) Seed JR, Calkins RW, Illsley CT, Miner FJ, Owen JB: Comittee evaluation of plutonium levels in soil within and surrounding U.S. A.E.C. installation at Rocky Flats, Colorado, R.F.P. INV-10. The Dow Chemical Company Rocky Flats Division, P.O. Box 888, Golden, Colorado 80401 (July 9, 1971)
(13) Operational accidents and radiation exposure experience within the United States Atomic Energy Comission.
1943-1970. WASH 1192 (U.S. Dept. of Energy, Washington, D.C.
(14) The report of investigation of serious incident in Building 771 on September 11, 1957, Dow Chemical Company, United States Department of Energy, Washington, D.C. (1958)
(15) Owen JB: Reviews of the exhaust air filtering and air sampling. Building 171, Rocky Flats Plant, Golden, Colorado (March 14,1963)
(16) Woodard RW: Plutonium particulate studies on Booster System No. 3 (Building 771) filter plenum. The Rocky Flats Plant, Golden, Colorado (1971)
(17) Hagan PG, Miner FJ: Water-soluble plutonium on plenum filters CROL 950355-4, The Rocky Flats Plant, Golden, Colorado (Movember 11,1970)
(18) Hamond SE: Determination of contamination from Rocky Flats Plant in the environs.
Interim Report, Rocky Flats Plant, Golden, Colorado (March 13,1958)
(19) Krey PN, Hardy EP: Plutonium in soil around Rocky Flats Plant HASL-235, U.S. Atomic Energy Comission, Rocky Flats Plant, Golden, Colorado (August 1,1970)
(20) McDowell WJ, Seeley FG, Ryan MT: Penetration of HEPA-filters by alpha recoil aerosols, Health Physics 32: 445(1977)
(21) Johnson CJ: Contamination of several public water districts with uranium by liquid waste discharges from a uranium mine, and development of a new permissible concen-Program and abstracts of tration limit for uranium in drinking (water (abstract).
the 109th Annual Meeting of the APHA November 1981)
(22) Morgan KZ: Suggested reduction of permissible exposure to plutonium and other transuranium elements, American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal, 567-575 (1975)
(23) Myers DS: A plea for consistent lung burden criteria for insoluble alpha-emitting isotopes, Health Physics 22: 905 (1972)
(24) Brandon W, Bloom A, Saccomanno G, Archer P, Archer V, Bistline R, Lilienfield A:
Somatic cell chromosome and sputum cell cytology changes in humans exposed to 222 radon and 239 plutonium. Progress Report, Department of Energy Contract No. E (2902) 3639 Rockwell International, Rocky Flats Division, Health Sciences Group, Golden, Colorado (1976)
NF: Quantitative health estimates of transuranic releases. Division of (25) Barr, dical and Environmental Research, U.S. Atomic Energy Comission, Washington, Biome D.C.
20545(October 31,1974)
S;..
Page 8 17 August, 1982 Connentary
- (26) Krey PN: Remote plutonium contamination and total inventories from Rocky Flats, Health Physics 30, 209 (1976)
(27) Johnson CJ, Tidball RR, and Severson RC: Evaluation of soil contaminated with plutonium: Potential air-borne plutonium particle hazard in respirable dust.
Science 193: 488-490 (1976)
(28) Johnson CJ, Tidball RR, and Severson RC: Measuring plutonium concentrations in respirable dust. Science 196:1126 (1977)
(29) Anon: Radiological quali ty of the environment U.S. E.P. A., 0.R.P. E.P. A.-520/
a-76-010 Washington, D.C. 20460 (May 1976)
e e
o e..
. v.a c o
o, u e c..
r.- me. o s a
..c..w
... se CARClNa M11-NIC l'1 I I CI S IN Itl' AGI 3 MMis w
rm ing, eawols (Gronip 4) were in appasently numly entouulered by mmers gCo7hl t his mwm> halth following the deaths of Geoups adduhmal bewJen lo sereswJ lungs resuficJ in I anJ 2 animals.1he foll.rw-up on the Groups a lower cHisscory for runwr proilisttion by 1 aml 4 Jogs, inchkling sulacquent put proihning fibrn-is and death from pulmon.uy CAllCINOGliNIC liifliCTS OF ItAIX)N
"'- " b* P"""'d '"'"'""~'^"i"h"d'"'
wparalely. "'"""
snrificcJ mhen they coiilenicJ sesere res.
DAUGilTliitS, UitANIUM Oltli I)UST AND
_ we have no cirlanaiion for she very high pir h ay Jniteu t his hica ieccises suppo,i CIGAltliTI'E SMOKli IN IIIIAGl.li DOGS
""d "' '"d' he dogs
$"TiFiunwe s m ! 'h
'"' ""'""9
'"""n. '('"# 80) 8"d"='"""
( H7%
t
_ [hg_ e spinwes flasA In the thud merk (Caxut ragg n=
he nc,u{y Iwo inders of magmtikle pecater were esgewJ to varying cormentratams of F. T.e auss a F. PAi Me e, n. E 3et iri.s:. g. Issue f a.a a s> sitians.
iMhost.gginted p cauw hinuam.cr m mamum ore ilust anil fiw.1 s unml.itise lesels Hmlogy Ikpartment pauhc Norihmess 1 ahorahiry. Itnhland. WA 99452
",'"dA.dthi A pouMe e splanatum n anas.
of sa.hm Jaughter espounc. or lo vanung tiascJ mnh espinure rate: A,hhough 12tL159 vales of radon Jaughter espniere asal lise.1
(#ucwed 20 sh s.ecr 1980; nurrecJ 24 Arni 191til
_lJi_!n.!L c sufhmnt 10 cau e lung cancer uranumi swe Just concentrathms and tumu W
b en man ( As71bMhc hmgeMun an_hle span laInc radon Jaughter espouncs. ihe rich Alneract-the Jewelopmens of pulamnary lesams en beagle Jogs nas stuJecd follooms alEr'th nytense Ios carI1negenesis lo pro. anin.or y histopathologic J.nla frame thew thronec inhAatum espa esn to vaJon tat 10s. 20 nce/ta. rados daughters tat 609 e icW higher expmme sales may be neces-esperiments suggest a trend toward incecawJ e
169 Wl3. manmm ore du.! fat 12 9
- fi 7 mg/m'a and up.irette samke. Chnmn esposines Wy in caperimenial animals in osder to in-lung tumor risk as radon Jaughter esenme la mutines of thew agenes can cJ segmhcans hicspan sluutenmg when compared mith controls Susveval sunes of controls and smoke esposcJ Joss neve equivalena dams the 4 crease the probability of lung cancer over rate askt uranium twe Just concentration to 5 yr mean swvival anne of the Jogs espised to radon daughter and cre-dust mastwes their sinuter life span, As a re,sult, nunh of JecreascJ l'inally, the actual etenuse of (mish or wistume aJJeJ cigareue sumke) g.
g Y
Animals unh lumors el the respiratory trast genesally had cumulative radon daugheer mil m. N fonn estimated h.w thew seasons a meaningfid Nesersheless. Ihs,aGmp, subsequent tunwes.
espnuses enceeding II.tul0 WI kl. and sheu survenal some was longer than the survival t raJsaison as smhhicJ an the comparison of human and animal esp nmes hme of mmaunwr hearing aninials Iinder the curminnes of Ihe esperiment, esposure lo animals cumut.itive esposure. lhe im.
requircJ to psalme lumius is m$l pouible at oratene smoke was found to have a mehgahng ellet-e on saJon daugherr-imtured tumors.
portance of hfespan to carcinogenesis is Ihis time.
It is unteitain whether this would be a general AnJmg applicable en other levels of supposicJ by the Jala in Table 8 which in-A follow-up study is now in peogeen. Ikigs espmure so radon Jaughiers, manium ore Just and ogareste samke.
- i dicate that the mean smsival time for animals are being esposcJ (4 h/ Jay 5J/u kt to car.
I-spo3eres to samke from 10 cigarettes /J. 7d/=k produced no sigm6 ant respiratory with tumors is greater than the mean rustile ore Just (al - 15 eng/m'l to deiermine hact lesnins. Ilowever, earnyure to 20 opasertes/J. 7J/mk resuhed in pulmona'F emphnema. 6bemn and chromt bronthitis asulIranchmihas' wid time of nem emnor bearing the carcinogenic potenti.nl of uranium ore I mphpema amt fibsmes were mua h smere prevalent and severe in the bps espawd to animals. lhis is to be expected. since Imsmus diest alone, and to clarify the role of ore Jint minemes ohnh emiuJed radon daughters and uranium ore dust lhese cops also had are scored. when the.y reach a site sufficient in lhe prodasiam of the massise PutmosurY adenomasous leuons mhich progressed to squamous metaplasia of aleveolar epithelium.
for Jetecison and anunals that h.ve kmger are libeou.s einerved in the dogs of Geoups I ami epideramed carcinonia and bromhioloalveolar cartinoma pathohigic thanges in the more apt to have tumors large crumgh to
- 2. (these leshms were not obweved in the
- airways of these dogs acre most prominent in the nasal mucosa, and imluded a few detect. Not considered en the emplanata a studies by Moskin(Elo7D mho did swa nadire squanum, carcinomas in she nasal caviey above, however, is the suspicism that other usanium one Just as an aunciated carrier We com hnte that the heagle dog is a useful animal for modeling putnmnary lesnins facitus have not been adequately taken into acrosol for the sadom Jaughters).
produscJ l>y uranium mine air contaminanas lunmes mere proJuced at levels that d.J mit account in the comparison of animals with greally enceed some esposures reported for maniuni mmers. lhew tunmes. found after man.
Respiratory tract tunwes annmg A.anonicJacments-lhe authon wish to ac.
appros some el esposer might partially acoiunt her she abwnce of tumors an emanium mincts are bromthigenic knomicJge the reasubutkins of R 11 flus.h. R I espesmients where esposenes Icemmased before a mo-s (specifically, in the larger twombi). Imt in ilusthhom. D l Caer. D K. Ceain. 3 C. Gaven. tk animal esperiments they are beomhmhul-1.. Ilm kets. p. p. Ja ksen. S kt I mt'utos. K li INinnht WON rel.ited esperimental slihlees through 1970 vcolar in origin and also ocsur in the naul his thm.dJ. fl. R. kloss. f I p.uk. Il A Rag.in. S T
Amsau stanlics hase now been coawkwied for appearcJ in the final reput of subgroup I 11..
epithelium. Ihere is some esidence ilus the I Ro*e.C. R Walton anJ p ti. WJiarJ
~
sescral decades in order to idenhiy she Inscragency tir.inium hiining Radiatism Re. inJisidual radiatiim do e to she respettne W'"k surroned bs alw U S Asomk I ncess
{
natme and lescis of uranium mine air con. sica Group tillklHRG711 1he inlevagency tessues may be lower in animals than in m.in.
Conomissk a. under Connas AT Hs tlIsin, the laminants that are resemsille for proJming seput comlikted, as Jul an earlier 17ederal thereby neccuitating a h.gher esenme
, h a wl.otm; A mnha the lung carners obweved anmng ur.iniism R.mtutam (omwd report if RC67). ' hat tignosing any differcewes in tiusse wnsitne p,
il S Ikr.urment of rnergy imJer Coner'at it nunces. A more retent resiew of she e ami esperimental merk resor to the 1970s had ime lied to proikwe tonmes in animals ilh 78) In 3, C su. Int ami the Natamal lashune of show n that it was pouible la protime put. ad htnin. time Jogs mese sessiuttarn inasli l'assommental llcahh S icmes. Deparenwns of
- preseen a.kiness: Samuder Chemkal Co.. Far.
moviary carcinomas in animals in a systematic espawd so his h comentrations of inannun Iteihh. l.hn as m a J Welfa c. under Conuma mmgton. Cl tw 012.
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A l' LEA FOR CONSISTENT LUNG 11Ulti)EN Citil'EltlA FOR INSOLUllt.E All'lIA EMIITING ISUIOPES' infor=doa is n=nPuted:
pr estm44,nm As derived in the Appendis, the done eate to (1) Amount of activity remaining in the the puhnonary lymph nodes is 6.59 x 10'Q,,
DAvlp s. an e us Univerusy of Caldorma, l.awarew e Lis creenne I.atan am y, I ke enn.ec, Cahfornia S ISie lungs aher 50 yr.
("W '""IV' b" i"'d"Id' D'" E" *
(2) Integrated dose to the hmgs at 50 yr, ma6muun perinessdde lymph node tuniden (l'ermiar.f 6e lhtm 5. Afs rest mma c4 ut a h pulmnnan.
l.5 x l0'acm/vr 1 mph nemles after 503 r, and 9'.
Atatr act - t hree appear to he certam inconentenoriin essal.hshinc appenpeiase lieg t.a.i. no 3
ti 5') x lu semfyefnCa' a
fue sertam msolunde alpha 4 nuaimg nutopes. T hrw pu emsasem w$ = di he dwi.aeed and a pir*
(4) Insegtased done to the pulmonary l}mple udt he made fue quedance en essablssheng conme.at liseng insedrei renreia.
nndes after 50 3r.
Q&.- 0^23 nCi*
i lhe masunussi pernoisuble dine to the lients as itchned by es eamg ra.haenne sean.lar.ls is Sulatenutmg the value v4 0.23 nCi for Q,_ in 8 5 rem / year. T he hgure ed 16 nCi es qmwed==kl, in the tweratme as tree., eh,long in den sur equate"n e
- 5 (A pendit). setting a un 503r, P
inwdulde Pu. Ilomever, the nc= 1ong nw=tri spred.cs ih.et 15 *, ed ehe m h.4.le *rm, mh= h l'or purpnscs of this docussion, the the value of Qpo cheained is 130 aCi Siege acute es cleseed feom she g=heumary regum of the h.nz
- seh a 500-d4= 8.alf life, n dermeerd in d.c pulmonary lymph audre. T he new lung nwwtel f cher speriles shat een*; ed the mu hdJe es pesure u sil be defined as are inhalathm 60*; ni the depuiwd activity is retained unh incedent uhwh dep> sits 26.7 nCi of smoluble a half ide of 3:ul days, then (60!;) (1.7 nCO cc ph.nonsum depneord m she g=hnnnary lymph nemirs remams there giremanrach.
"Pis aside in the pulmonary region of the 1.02 nCi is the "ma6 mum perniisuble lung it une consulers the pulmonary 1 mph swwles as the cra= al oecan, mwh a enasmaem pre.
3 nmntJe dme re e of 15 rem /yr, the amouns of w.siduble *ru de paiwd m the g*hmmar, regin" hm.en.
A< cording to the revised lung nw=lci, hurden" = hu h m til prodin e a snasemun-2 e
of the lungs durma a smgle inhalanon evene ohn h lrad io a snesunum pre===dJe scoperseewy g, sor 86 nCi) c4 this deposited a<thity unal primessshic pulmnnarv (3snple siside Imeden of heph node burden a 1.1 nG. Ior <heamc misalamin seenat=ms. she primmende acennmlascJ lac etained meth a 500-day half hfc; the e-u 23 n.( i for the acute isihalatha. eiPamc.
lung innden aher 50 yr =hich mal pn=here a saiasmousee premmelde erspieae ws hmpi semic ma ning 10.7 nCi being cleared to the G l.
1ha es less than /, c4 the currently accepwd Imeden is 0.07 nCi. lhas unica is is decided thae the h mph nmb s slwn.id n. lie eansalreed era (t math a 24 hr half-lifeea' madmuen permuselde lung imeden of 86 nC4.
as the useiral orgse for espasure to insohd.le *ru, herame of shew appnerne relause in-a,lla.nn.,n pressuu6te lieng 6 aedes" sensetivesy to radiasans door, pesh.ipe etw maammm premasilJr anwanit of modulde ***Pu (3reer maalenen j,, gn,,6, niA.te, dep nord in the lunas should be signihranaly redmed.
In this descussion the chronic expisure will be The annual insake of insidulde '"Pu requned la IW a enned lung nwwlel was prom-defined as ihe inhalation of l SlPC.of insalutile so produce a ma6 mum perimsutde l3 mph n.=le INT ItupttCTIOs4 Ties utsmuw pctmissible annual Ane sa ul aerd bv de it H P's "I nk Genup on Lung
- Pu for the entire weeking lifetmie (50 3 r; e4 bmdcen aher 503r can be drecemined Isons an o' In the raw e4 l h nanm s"
- lie 44hsem to emwe clearly an indevedual.
equanon #16 (Appemhs). If Q,,
- 0 23 nCi imbsidual's mqs as defined ley esisting radia-t lung doncs resulimg (som alpha cmutmg isa-dchmng sie dreisemni enenpartmenes in the lhe parameters for enth of the cignure aml # 50 yr, then solving for f twl.ls 0 03 4 sards is 15 remhr sum s.
sopes, the nmmpm>n is ma.lc that the alpli.
'"p' * * 'ry is stem, the revised lung mndel categories and the correspmding computatiims nCih r.
1 hen from equatuni #ft, the heng se*Skirred (1) the esfca e e4 pasticle sine em are shn=n an the Appendis and the sesults are hunden after 50 yr ofinhalatii== ed o u34 ncifyr energy es dep siwd uniforndy in the lung smuc dermeum, m du dwmk al forni e4 eine inhaled shown in Table 1.
yields a value for Qp of 0 067 nCi. Ihus, she ami shat the mns of the lungs a tonn g "masimum pernusalde lung bm den" for ne t he anwume nt alpha acteutv in the hmqs whi.h mMeriM aml #3i de siwnfic cicaraswe path-MA%InstJSR PER%llSSEDLE s UNG DL'ItDFN c hronic inhalatuwt el 8" Pia whuh w ould
- ds
- I"4" il"
- del =meinn enmpartments.
neder e410 20 nCidepcmbnq upon the effre eivc 38 is "I spre sal inscarse in de cue ed insoluble If die psalmonary I) mph nodes ar: considered prmhue a "ma6miam perimsuble puinnmary udt proibwe a dose raic ci li remhr is on slw l n ph s>mle burden" of G 73 nCs is O Uei7 nCe i
is"t"lvs lh St the trVhr*l limg mmlrl tropulasks as the cruiral organ with s mstimum per-thaa 157, of slic a, in nv dcrane 1 in the smsuble duee sate of 15 remfre, then the "niasi-1hes value is less than 0.57; of the cussently energy of the alpha-essaittisig sentope.
ated cak ulishms, imuluble s"Pu woh a masi. 1"demmary arti.we n dupin.ord tn the pdemm-mum permissible lung tnanden" whkh wnuld accepied ma6musn perinisutde lung imeden.
Few the pm pvies of this diumienn and as*= i.
neum permnsible lemq hierden of 86 n(:i will asy hmph eu des amt sh.at *ap"; e.( dm asthdv depnig sulI~wient activery into the pulnenats MpC. FOR CafRONIC BNII ALAitON F X pOS t *ft E n rreaiswd in dwsc isniph >=lc, permanensiv.
lymph nmics so delser 15 remfyr wald depend be used as repicwnianve af long hvcet alplia.
1 % I nn das remed lon.: n* =lci, ehr one nn whcihen the inhalatinns wee + of an a.use or If we assunw as simwn in the peevinus se tion c
cnuning iv. topes llic %f PC, for iemdulde " Pee that the "masimum pernussih!c fung inseden" for raehanon winkers is i 1 10 " id 'i/rcne se-en r4 hs dw pdnemm v Is enph :==les is chronic nature.
'*sulerably un au s then ole el.we actrncil by MI'#"*""*'*"*O"'**""
't his value is burd an the "t )<igmal lamq slo let"52' ulish assuancs that 12.5 *, of the Bl* P"l""*m trem e4 the honets los entwe
.enne or dunn'w inhd4non.4 modulJe *Pu.
Aemiriuen m A
m.d.uc.I de ee se t
impurd "Pu n retamed m she Ima re urspir.ibwy 3.hal.,, ion An.mne in lungs Accumulaird Ame so snetawmary hmph s==les pdeminaev Ismph m.lcs sem e amt is tIcaecil hnm rhat argson wide an ACCI'Mt l.%it n AClIVIr v ANei amde as M sr @Ci) luencs as 'i0 s, peisd me W vr gn se W er (eceed eller uve laalf ide nI l!O d.n s INitGR % f f n IMME CO31t* gittsONS A'"*e*
0 2.9 s 80' 3.t.
1.3 40*
- Wah prof.wmed umirr die auspu es of she US.
t he tues es prs ni inleMaeonn esposurre e em-Chronic
- 16 66 4 It' 5.1 = 10' e 1 108 sairrrd are an nec amt ilwomc. l os cas h
.f Ae..einc Fne.gy coiman m.
4 4
bh 4e P hh I k '
IIIST0 GRAMS OF MIE 1 AEVALDICE OF STRUCWRAL CIIRQ10SWE ABERRATIGIS IN ROCKY FLATS CalTROLS AND PLUTQlIUN WORKERS ARRANGED BY CHRCHOSOME ABERPATIGI CATEGORIES N = 2716 MD4 (PLUS 57 REPEATS)
NUMBER OF CELLS = 31,838 i
10.0_
N=33(8661 3385 cells
- Controls, N - 76 6 cells 1 - 10%,
(9f30 cells 9*0-11 - 25%.
N - 96 (5123 cells 6
yo g 26 - 50%,
N = 39 3ty,,g,,,1 51 - 100%, N - 15 2110 cells Aberrations 8.0_
>100%,
N = 15 3126 cells in Dicentrica, b
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ESTIMATES OF INTElillAL Pl.tlTulIUH BilRDHIS 7
(PI:11CR'lT OF HAXIMU11 l*l:11MiSriItil..:)
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- p BEFORE THE UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY C0ifilSSION ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD l
In the Matter of UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY PROJECT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY (CLINCH RIVER BREEDER REACTOR PLANT)
DOCKET NO. 50-537 i
Affidavit of Dr. Carl J. Johnson
)
City of Wheatridge, Colorado )
ss:
)
I, Dr. Carl J. Johnson, being duly sworn, depose and say that the foregoing testimony is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
//
i W
Carl J. Johnson, M.D., M.P.H.
42 Hillside Drive Wheatridge, CO 80215 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 28th day of October, 1982
" $/
k Public [
hg)
[
g;s;ris;sva1uss4
e f
00tKETED
'J3NEC BEFORE THE UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION ATOMIC SAFETY AND LIgg gApg;j9
-'c h TARY NdCEiinG'. SERVICE In the Matter of BRA,CH
)
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
)
PROJECT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
)
Docket No. 50-537 TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
)
)
(Clinch River Breeder Reactor Plant)
)
)
CERTITICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of TESTIMONY OF DR. THOMAS B.
COCHRAN, PARTS III, IV, AND V, and TESTIMONY OF CARL J. JOHNSON, M.D.,
M.P.H.,
were served this 1st day of November 1982 by hand upon:
Scott W. Stucky, Chief
~ ~ '
Docketing-& Service Section l
Office of'the Secretary U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C.
20555 i
Raymond J. Brady, Director Division of Security Office of Administration U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C.
20555 Following classification review by the Division of Security, l
copies of the TESTIMONY OF DR. THOMAS B. COCHRAN, PART V, will be forwarded by the Division of Security to the following service list.
Copies of TESTIMONY OF DR. THOMAS B. COCHRAN, PARTS III AND IV, and TESTIMONY OF CARL J. JOHNSON, M.D.,
M.P.H.,
have been served today by hand upon:
Marshall E. Miller, Esq.
Chairman l
Atomic Safety & Licensing Board l
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission l
4350 East West Highway, 4th floor Bethesda, MD 20814
I Cartificate of Sarvice - 2 Gustave A. Linenberger Atomic Safety & Licensing Board U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 4350 East West Highway, 4th floor Bethesda, MD 20814 Daniel Swanson, Esq.
Stuart Treby, Esq.
Bradley W. Jones, Esq.
Office of Executive Legal Director U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Maryland National Bank Building 7735 Old Georgetown Road Bethesda, MD 20814 Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1717 H Street, NW, Room 1121 Washington, D.C.
20555 Atomic Safety & Licensing Board Panel U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1717 H Street, NW, Room 1121 Washington, D.C.
20555 Docketing & Service Section Office of the Secretary U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1717 H Street, NW, Room 1121 Washington, D.C.
20555 (3 copies)
R. Tenney' Johnson, Esq.
Leon Silverstrom, Esq.
Warren E. Bergholz, Jr., Esq.
Michael D. Oldak, Esq.
L. Dow Davis, Esq.
Office of General Counsel U.S. Department of Energy 1000 Independence Ave., SW, Rm. 6A245 Washington, D.C.
20585 George L. Edgar, Esq.
Irvin N. Shapell, Esq.
Thomas A. Schmutz, Esq.
Gregg A. Day, Esq.
Frank K. Peterson, Esq.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius k!skiNgkon**b'CY'2bbh6
O I
certificate of service - 3 and by first class mail upon:
Dr. Cadet H. Hand, Jr., Director Bodega Marine Laboratory University of California P.O. Box 247 Bodega Bay, CA 94923 Herbert S. Sanger, Jr., Esq.
Lewis E. Wallace, Esq.
James F. Burger, Esq.
W. Walker LaRoche, Esq.
Edward J. Vigluicci, Esq.
Office of the General Counstsl Tennessee Valley Authority 400 Commerce Avenue Knoxville, TN 37902 William M. Leech, Jr., Esq.,
Attorney General William B. Hubbard, Esq.,
Chief Deputy Attorney General Michael D. Pearigen, Esq.
State of Tennessee Office of the Attorney General 450 James Robertson Parkway Nashville, TN 37219 l
Lawson McGhee Public Library 500 West Church Street Knoxville, TN 37219 William E. Lantrip, Esq.
City Attorney Municipal Building P.O. Box 1 Oak Ridge, TN 37830 Oak Ridge Public Library Civic Center Oak Ridge, TN 37820 l
1 Joe H. Walker 401 Roane Street Harriman, TN 37748 Commissioner James Cotham Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development l
Andrew Jackson Building, Suite 1007 Nashville, TN 32219 f
e
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