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US DOE ARCHIVES326U^. ATOMIC ENERGY BEST AVAILABLE COPY Lt.Col. Odland is /roiri the USAF Radiological Health Laboratory, Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Presented at the 53d Annual Meeting of Indus trial Medical Association, San Francisco, Califor nia, April 22 to 25, 1968. The opinions expressed m this paper arc those of of the United States Air Force. During 1965 popular news peric v cals’« carried accounts of an aircraft r rider.t near Spain, involving planes of the United States Air Force. Many other reports described unco:;- trolled dispersion of four unarmed : iclear weapons over the southeastern coastal areas of the accident and subsequent events were quickly These reports related the details of a ir.id-air collision and explosion. Seven crew members were killed in the accident, and four nuclear weapons dropped to eai'th. Three weapons \yere quickly found, two of which experienced a non nuclear explosion, scattering their contents.1 The fourth was not easily located, and subse quent land and sea search efforts involved large numbers of military and civilian perse nremoved from the Mediterranean Sea.; The land search was climaxed by removal of topsoil, seal ing it in drums and shipping to the United States for burial. The amount removed varies with the reporting agency. Values of 1,600 ‘onsh 4,900 barrels/ and 1,500 cubic yards'1 were sited. According to one source" “the earth and vegeta tion contain only small quantities of radio' stive materials scattered when the nuclear we..pons Industrial Medical Problems In the usual context of industrial medicine, the worker is considered as more or less of a special ist whose possible exposures to hazardous . Illa tions and toxic materials is defined reasonably well by his work specialty. Therefore, a vi :ous program of health education coupled with io«e monitoring of the environment and the man sufficient to protect the worker. Health edv ucr. program, and is successful only after many 1 months and years of emphasis. j With the above in mind, consider the si* -ih’rin Spain. Violation of integrity of two c, viev? ■ permitted limited dispersal of content; a; '• i strong winds over the area enabled material tbe spread. Land search operations for th’ weapons had to proceed with an absolute miv.smum of delay. Manpower requirements "'o'1 quickly met by assigning personnel from ac very small percentage of these troops r. >- use of instruments for detection of radioactivit-
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jind were knowlcdgcnble about the nature of the hazard of alpha emitters. In order *o lessen perjonal hardships, troops were rote ^ for search duty every two weeks. Thus, any experience and education gained on the job was soon lost as each new contingent reported for duty. Health education programs, so vital to worker protection, were virtually impossible because of urgency of the situation. However, as with all incidents of this nature, simple standard pro cedures (later shown to be effective) were fol lowed to prevent or minimize contamination of personnel by radioactive material. Decontamina tion of clothes, skin, equipment, etc., was done under field conditions, and prior to departing the area each individual was isolated for twelve hours, during which time all urine output was collected for study at the USAF Radiological Health Laboratory-. Thus, the least desirable method of assessing a hazard, using the worker as a “sampler,” had to be used since it would have been impossible to monitor the environ ment of several hundred individuals scattered over the countryside and performing a variety Opportunities for sample contamination were numerous. Strong winds spread dust over a wide area, including the base camp, troops did not always follow decontamination procedures, initial samples were collected in makeshift containers, and when more acceptable ones became avail able, their storage in a dust-free environment was not always possible. All samples were airlifted to the laboratory for analysis. Upon completion of the medical portion of the operation (January' 16, 196S, just five days prior to a second similar incident in Greenland) over 2,000 urine samples were processed. None was lost in transit, and only' seven arrived with contents partially or totally lost because of leaky or broken containers. Average transit time was six days. In addition, a few nasal swipes, water, soil, vegetation and miscellaneous biota were submitted for study. A small wedge of lung tis sue was obtained at time of necropsy from an individual who participated in the early’ phases of the search operation and later died (October 28, 1966) of acute myocardial infarction. Laboratory Support Program Urine samples were considered in one of two categories; initial or resample. The initial were •hose collected at the site of operations and repr«sented the first sample from any one indi "Journal of Occupational Medicine .Resamples were those couecicd usually several months after duly at ’he site, in containers pro vided by the USAF diological Health Labora tory’, at the individual’s permanent base or station, and under close medical supervision, to insure the sample represented the complete 24The initial urine samples were analyzed for alpha-emitting radionuclides, using a gross alpha procedure. Pooled urine samples from a control population were spiked with -^Pu and processed in a like manner, to obtain data on chemical re covery of the procedure. Early in the operation it was discovered that the exterior surfaces of the sample containers were contaminated with an alpha-emitting radio isotope. This immediately’ discredited the as sumption that the alpha activity in the urine sample had, in all cases, been cycled through a metabolic system. It was decided to continue screening all initial samples for gross alpha ac tivity, and to assume that this activity repre sented disintegration of :;:DPu atoms. In those samples where the activity found suggested a systemic body burden of lO^ or more of the maximum permissible, as recommended in Na tional Bureau of Standards Handbook 69,13 for this nuclide, a resampling program was con ducted at the period of 90 to 150 days after col lection of the initial sample. Systemic body burdens were calculated, using Langham’s14 formula for conditions of single, acute exposure. Since there was no way of knowing precisely when the exposure (s) mayhave occurred, the elapsed time between pos sible inhalation of isotope and collection of sam ple was taken from the median day’ of duty at the operation site to the date of sample collection. In this manner the greatest probable error was usually no more than 7 to 10 day’s. doe arc Twelve-hour urine samples required use of certain assumptions when body burdens were calculated, since Langham’s14 expression was based on a 24-hour output. When the 12-hour volume was less than 1.2 liters, calculations were so adjusted as to express the total activity had the output been 1.2 liters. In other words, an average 24-hour urine output of 1.2 liters for each individual was assumed. When the volume exceeded 1.2 liters, the actual value for calculat ing systemic body’ burden was used. The use of 1.2 liters as an average value was supported as a reasonable estimate by results of the resampling program (Table III) when a 24^hour output was BEST AVAILABLE COPY
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• Palomares Nuclear Incident In order to identify and quantitate the isotope of greatest interest (-^Pu) a procedure specific for this nuclide was adopted for analysis of all was added to each sample in order to evaluate per cent recovery of the chemical procedure. TTie lung tissue sample, after dissolution in 8N nitric acid, and addition of ^ Pu spike, was proc essed in a manner identical to the urine samples. Counting procedures for resamples involved use in a vacuum chamber. Charge sensitive pream plifiers, designed and built by one of us (Mr. Robert L. Farr) were used to amplify signals from the detector. Output from the preamplifiers was fed to a Nuclear Data 130 AT multichannel analyzer. Readout from the analyzer was in the form of typewriter printout. Background counts were made each night for 600 minutes duration with a blank planchet in the counting chamber. The values ranged be tween 0.000 and 0.0025 counts per minuter The daily background count also served as a check for any possible contamination in the count ing chamber. Samples were routinely counted for The data were collected in an analyzer mem ory of 127 storage positions. Total counts in two bands, centered on the peak channels of ::'-'Pu and -■’"Pu, and each containing II storage loca tions, were totaled and used for the sample activity calculations. The same bands were used for both sample and background determinations. Sample activity was calculated from the follow flow proportional counter, and gross alpha activity measured. Nasal swipes were taken with cotton wrapped around an applicator stick. The terminal two inches of the stick containing the cotton was cut off and directly dropped into a 19 ml. solution of fluor.* Counting was accom plished in an automatic liquid scintillation counter (Packard Instrument Company Model Radioactivity in soil and on vegetation samples was readily detected by a survey instrument S). Soil samples were sealed in polyethylene containers and a pulse height analysis of gamma emissions done, using a thin (0.005") beryllium window Nal crystal and associated electronicUpon completion of the resampling program, which involved 500 individuals, a long-term follow-up study was conducted on 26 whose urine showed the highest concentrations of :39Pu. In terms of body burden, the values ranged from 7 to 579c of one permissible systemic body bur den. Originally, it was intended to sample at 2-month intervals until a total of six specimens was obtained from each person. However, after reviewing results of the first three samples, there was no indication additional information could be gained by continuing the study. Chemical recovery of spiked samples was 75%=19 (S.D.) using the gross alpha procedure to sample corrected for decay to date of count. Swipes taken from the surface of tomatoes .Prepared by absolving 100 Cm. naphthalene, 50 r urement Corporation PC-3A windowless, gas- diphenyloxazole in one litter of 1,4 p-dioxane. 358 July 1968 Volume 10 No. ’
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BEST AVAILABLE COPY —that for the resamples is shown in Table III. tivity, and in the remainder the highest value Forty water samples were analyzed, seven of which showed no detectable radioactivity.’ In 33, the range of gross alpha activity was 0.1 to 633 picocuries per liter with a median value of 1.64. Seventy-eight swipes taken from the surface of as many tomatoes were processed, and, of this number, only 13 showed detectable alpha radio activity. The range of results was from 0.1 to 4.3 picocuries per swipe. No detectable radioactivity was found on 70 of 120 nasal swipes received. The range of results for the other 50 was 0.45 to 153 picocuries per swipe; the mean, standard deviation, and median value for this series was 11, 21.S and 5.9 respec In each of 23 soil samples, photopeaks at 16, 27 and 60 Kev energy were observed. In two of the group additional peaks at 110 and 185 INITIAL URINE SAMPLES—ALPHA ACTIVITY (EXPRESSED AS PERCENTAGE OF ONE SYSTEMIC BODY Force Army Navy Other Tc*al EB areafer 100%*' IV 1 0 0 20 loteci on the basis of urinary excretion according to where D^systemic body burden t~time in days from exposure to sampling ** Value of 0.044 fid "'Pu for D represents one body Vegetation samples showed high level of alpha activity with a survey meter. No further studies Results of gross alpha analyses on initial urine samples are shown in Table I. In Table II the results of studies on resamples are displayed. Table III is a summary of statistics on factors of importance in relation to the results of Table II. The lung tissue sample weighed 7.9 Gm. (wet), and contained 2.8 picocuries of :’°Pu. Total wet weight of the lungs was 950 Gm. Table IV gives a complete history of bioassay studies on this individual prior to death. Participation in the long-term studies of 26 individuals was good. Sixty-seven out of a pos sible total of 78 samples were received and processed. The results showed a uniform de crease in urine content of ^Pu as time since probable exposure increased. In all but four the last sample studied showed no detectable activ ity; the exceptions were those who declined to submit the full quota of specimens. In 14, the second sample showed no detectable activity, and in the remainder, the highest value reflected ten Per cent of one permissible body burden. Five of the first group collected demonstrated no ac- ♦JVo detectable activity (NDA) means that the result */ the analysis was below the minimum detectable •ctiinty (MDA) of the particular counting equipment fti/ired (MDA is defined as the sample activity with an •ssocicted counting error at the 957o confidence level *oual to 0.95 times the sample activity). The exact value °/ the MDA is a function of the background counting k»rl, and can be obtained from the Laboratory, upon URINE RESAMPLING PROGRAM—-'PLUTONIUM ASSAY (EXPRESSED AS PERCENTAGE OF ONE SYSTEMIC BODY *BB defined as systemic body burden, bone, critical organ. Calculations as explained in Table I. STATISTICAL REVIEW OF SELECTED FACTORS FOR GROUPS SHOWING BODY BURDEN OF 1% AND GREATER UPON RESAMPLING (219 SAMPLES) “Pu Seiko (% recovery) 77 IS 61 76 43-113 •Estimate of time between probable exposure and col lection of sample. m,Body burden as defined in Table I. DOE ARCHIVES Collected Quantity Procedure Urine circa 1/20/66 400 mi. gross e-pha 248 Unoe circa 1/29/66 1650 ml. orcss elo^a 9.9 Urine 1/31/66 4270 ml. gross alpha 72 Urine 2/28/66 2520 ml. cross alpha NDA Note: Probable date(s) of exposure January 17 to 20, Journal of Occupational Medicine 359
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•2nd end 3rd aamples separated in time from the pre vious one by approximately 90 days. Most of the water samples showing detectable levels of alpha activity were obtained from per sonnel decontamination shower efHuent. The re mainder were grab samples from the Mediter Wipes from tomato surfaces showed less activity than suggested by reports in Time,1 Life,4 and New York Times,13 if one assumes that the tomatoes wiped were a representative sample of the entire crop under condemnation. Nasal wipes were not utilized to any significant degree, and over half of those submitted had no detectable activity. In theory, a wipe sample from the external nares, having radioactivity on subsequent analyses, provides excellent pre sumptive evidence of exposure to airborne nu clides. Depending on the amount of activity detected, applicable individuals could be prompt ly removed from hcu.ai clous areas. Urine samplo<: from these individuals could then be obtained in a contamination-free environment. However, in practice, a nasal wipe is not always reliable. The procedure must be done properly to be of value. Often the cotton tip is not inserted into the nares sufficiently to contact all mucous surfaces. Many individuals are very sensitive to nasal probing, and if the corpsman is of lesser rank than the patient, and timid, the entire procedure is likely to be little more than a sham. A further compli cation is the natural tendency for individuals to insure a …
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