Health Division Annual Report 1952

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HIALTB AND SAFFTY LOS Alamor Rrport Lbruy Aeromedical Lahr a tory (wmc) ANP Project Uflce, Fort Worth Atomlc Energy Cornmisston. Washinawn Bureau of Medietar and h rger g Calltornla Re ruc b and Development Compmy Carbldr and Cubon Chrmlerls Company (C-31 Plant) Carbide md Carbon Chcmtcals Company (K-25 Plant) Carb lk and Cubon Chemtcals Company (ORNL) Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Company ( Y-12 Plant I Cualyttc Constructlon Companv Chicago Patent Group ChleI of Naval Research Columbia University ( Failla) Commonvealth Ldlson Company Detroit Edlson Company General Electric Company ( ANPP I General Elrctrlc Company, Rlchland Hdord Oprrstlons Offlce Idaho Q matrons olflce Iowa Satr Collrse Knolls Nomlc Power Laboratory Massachusetts Instltute of Technology ( Kaufmann) Natlonal Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Cleveland Natlonal Lead Company of Qllo Naval kCedlcal Rerearch Institute Naval Rowarch Laboratory New Bruniwick Laboratory New York Cpcratlons aflce North American Avlatlon, Inc. Nuclear Development Assoctates, Inc. Public Health Srrwce Savannah Rlver Opcrations Office, Augusta Sylvuna Electric Products, Inc. USM Radlation Laboratory UCLA Medlcal Research Laboratory (Warren) University of California Radiation Laboratory, Berkeley tiniversitv of California Radirtlon Labratory, Llvermore University of Rochester University of Tennessee (Cornu) Untversity of Washington Vitro Corporation of kn erica Technical Information Service. Oak Ridge

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3. Group H-2, Iaduatriil Mcim................ 28 5. Group H-5, Indwtriil Hygiam ................ 43 6. Croup H-6, Radiologic Pb a ica................ 62

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AItMlAL REFORT OF THE HEALTH DIVISION Tb. annul roport of the W t h Division prapuod a pur ago intita supply to the Laboratory arrantklly any type of b a t h rervice that night bo requird. hena rapid prud of the reports of the variour Group b.dus would indicab that the c d ~ n d uy o u 1932 h6 confirrud I t i r hopad th.t llpp of thoro roding tho- roportr will also h ~ v o red th m annaul reports from this Division far proviour pur. represented a coming-of-age, 1952 ahould pghps be regardod as a year of increasing maturity, of increasing realization of the rempoaaibilit i o r - a d the limits of those reapozmibilitier - of tho Ditridon to th. Tho existing arg d ration ma arrived at at the clone of 1951 a d thoro #ion i n conrwction uith tests at Eaivetok or i n Nevada warm rrot weam* dmwiing, urd each Group roally had an opportunity to rtabilho itrelf. Tt uro dt uar tho irrerurod maturity vntiolwd abovo, or, a8

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one Group bdu put it, an incre...d sophistic8tion. I kl iero that the izdividual group roports Wiu. all irdicata t o the remder that t h e inc road sophistication does not bring with it a feeliag of ccmplacexq. The first af this series of n n m d report. u u prod& to COYW quostad to vrita a report giving in brod out lin, form t&o activitieB of his group for the year, including if ho wished a 8 a t . W n t as to hi8 plum or hoper for the comiw pu. No at t mp thr boon .de toul re without significant editing. Iudetr rurderrtrlos to bring to the ruderls 8 t k n t i o n a8ttOrS which affect In this prelliriauy section tho Division the Division as a whole, 8md briofly t o turn the rpo ui gh t on come i m which, kcawe of bmcdng mdorty on t h e part of the Group badera, mieht othsrvire orcap. notice. Biomdicrl Fboeuch Group, H-4, cur yi ag the hms td ep n of ClaasifiA 6 was don last yeu, the report of the cation, io buds ep u at aly to prait wider distribution. Q all odds the m8t laportant factor r d & tfng to th, Division 88 a whole during 1952 has ken the effoct of the reorganisation, mcc ~ 8hed a t the erd of 1951, into a form which it is hoped can remain stable for Thoro groups contime to focus t h e i r respective frrtsrests on Occupationd

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precludes tht the vork of tN8 group will ever kcow routlab ur 8terooHryrr i r Group Iuder, &. Is0 Cheliur his aa.ociata. b til yy tho unxpbcted a d the U IBM dia the rule. &. Dun Thoro uo roctioru for gmrural maitoring, DP West, DP a r t , Tech Area, CER Building, photodosimetry, ani doconknimtion. I4mt mu probloma H-1 takes in i t a strib, but thore uhich appear too cqhx or too tin-comuming feU to tho m lyc or ut it utd 8-6, Biophyrlcs k t i o a of X-1, slightly au@antd by additional prWrmdl. I n the group r d n a tho kteorology Section lod by Lt. Col. C. A. Spohn, and lastly tho Piold Teat Section. This l a r t lyyd metion prrhpr r c quires a U t t h axplumtion. It consirtr of only tvo mn, U. R. & d y otorflov f'rom the Special Problrs Section ud which hrom conrrction The Spocial E fob l re Soction of thir vo up ir tho old wbatever with teats at Enimtok or Nova. Uhothu R-Dirieim Uoe it o r not, howver, v. canmt dissociate ouraelrer h.ar toot probleaa; OUT Laboratory, by S W O , by the military, ud by tho Dlvirrion of Biology rad informed on tart attar8 and to devote a8 much or am l i t t l o t5ma t o euch It is the purpose of thi a section, thuoforo, t o keep itself

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tha conf'idance of other Diviaion urd Croup hu5.r~a8 well as of idividurl j hboratory workars. This meum tht qru8tiona COI to 118 k f O r 0 t h y betantita rathor than curative work. The kbomtajr nprewntr a ray coaridarod ard intallfgeot attempt to keep hir hodthy .ad f'ree o f S . t i 0 W dleeaw. Sometimer he ruffom from our imptltude, othortlmer we u*

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into or ta of th4 hboratory. There data at all tlP.8 a dds vu io tj of pro hb w ~to chooso frca, .Id the result i r tht t& groat majority o f our melves. In atkcking them prohlmma of pog rm tic intaroat, the method8 axi -0-h of halo row uch are ordinrily urd. ductiro p u g of oathruiartr. H-Divisioa rtartd tho CJordU y o u 1952 vith 158 d m rod roachd T b tablo given blow roprownts tho Diririon parronnrl at the clora of tho Tear, but m y ba takon ar typical of the par so a whole.

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2oo-ris. rd ur tar the Nevada Provily Crcrurdr. Dospit. a contruy opinion arpoornd by certain military officers, it i m our contontion that tho Diririon of Biolom md W i c i n , tho Tort )Irarqrr, the Teat Director, d other8. It is hopod that improved inrtruuntatlon will in th. futuro c. It -..PI doubtful if even the ditq can corrtirnrr id of l nik ly kr furnirh Ftadslfa service OB the scala t o vhich um hvo8llbn aod. Both tho Nwda d Pacific Prwfng Grourds h v o rw rmacbd tho

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i u s II) apologies for -iw on only a frv of thmw wtiritier. T U 8

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Tim report of this grollp always s w liko tho proof o f tha pudding: it talle bw 1up0 poplo hre been injured a t work, a d can k taken u a again being the hvO8t in the history of the saying that out dmty oagirwas do mtcki.

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Tho roport of this group, which i r #puat.ly bo-, prewats such

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vide ve rie ty of wr~icesfor other group throughaut the Laboratory, ea=

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The formation o f this group has permitted ita leader lJld Inambers t o divest thsnraelver of the responsibilities of routirrc monitoring activitlrs a d coaeentrata mre on research d dovelopent wrk. rrsults i n what could b oalled 'basic reasarch' men though arch programs Already we sea . may k largely programmrtic i n the eyas of Loa Alums. The group must aluays serve to back up the work of H - l and t o provide specialized service for other groups within d outside the Division. It i s devoutly hoped, bovever, that time, apace, am3 pesoznnl uill paamit ate add activities in basic research. the work a t u t e d by M.jor Heft, ud dmiaed tha mort satisfactory mthod yet founi of forecasting fallout following a nucleu detonation. tion, ha hna developed a fornnrla for predicting the height of rise of the Cloud depelrlant on the yield ard the mteorological conditions. H-Division i s doubly blessed - it has an interesting job, d it can

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At DP Wort rr, nrukd docrenu h a boan mticeablo but tho 22,366 lir .(Uplee king Wonin 1952. In dd it ion to air kat s taken

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ting the dust hazard to perso d imolvod in docontamhation of the tugs tue a.This winter, a amber of this section via it ad the site for a tbree-wak period t o assist in st dar diz ation of photo do ah try pro-- b. paciiic Rwm Tvo members of the group, om assisting 3-13 and the other acting as a spacial monitor for CER4, spent approximately OM month on the island8 during the Ivy torts. carried o u t by U-3 porsonaol at there sib8 necessitated the presence of months of 1952. I n addition, the Alternata Group h&er apent tu0 weaka at the sits becoming acquainted with the health prohlems associated with &.& Om mnn was sent t o the Pantex Plant in hmuillo, Texas,a don toRo j ect Su gu at Wulington, to4x1 radiation surosys of the high voltage X-ray in a till ation8at these sitar.

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-a. The neutron track fUm8 is nu dW the group U o pocorsod ud intarprated by an outride group (P-10). S a m um are U t 4 d in tbo

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-During tho latter part of th. you jut put, Dr. Voels ham boon active in acquiring mquipwnt form t tia g up a room in tha idutriil Ving of tho Wical Centra ar a pul.onuy fuaction laboratory. ha i 8 runnlng prelimirary test8 for 8tardmditation of tho aqui-nt.. WW dura for tho follow-up of uorkars i n tbo rui our dusty occupation8 in tho Laboratory, with spacial amphasir on tha pap hito adb workers.

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addition, it i r bap.d that .oy hrrdurntd phyriologicil ron uch can dcd i.mplicatlon8 in that toleralror of VU i OW toxic sub r tur or uhich u ocd cul stad M rLlligrm or microgram por litor will have to k rovird danwud to comp on ~ t af o r the incrouwd vol- of air oxchanged htha project tht i r rhortly t o bo uadortakon ira rout in study of rod -tion of yorkor6 u ploy ed in llachidnq urdu ~ . A Uniquo comrrtration, the urine concentration of uranium, anl it irp or rib lo to follow rod fuaetion by mano of ph yr icd oxaminstiom, aonaentratioa t&t thia 'study throw roy light on tho actual munt of hurd fra a rrsphro-taric point of vim that ir fowd in ychlning natural mdm. During the cering mu, with the gradual wing of the porronnnl of Tach Aroa to South Xow, it is pl- to open a m u disponwy u d e r the miparvirion of A -BO in tho mv CMI Building i n the vary m u futuro. During the ad ng you it i r du,hoped that it will provo porsiblo to do emd rd iCd d Nti OM On d 8-f In g o m i l tho poup can boaat of rm epactuzulu publicatlona or

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publicity or noteriatr ir the kat ovidencr that it hu dona coapotont

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Roy Reidem, Croup badar Tho .nd of 1952 .1m MV tho end of the accaloratad w r k mok rchodul. with uhich thm kboratary bad b..n imo ltd rimo ul yin 1950. During tho a u l y ronth. of tho longthond vork wok, mom rirgirings b.d boon v o i d AO to tho offout of thir on tho hboratory(r accidmt -i0 ~ 0 . Thore -6 1p remoon thon, or lator, to 8urp.ct tht tha i a e r o d working hours of aplopor wan emugh in it rolf to hro an untovud ofrwordr li r td in paragraphr to foUcw vill rhou that in tb. tho kboratmy oontinud to hold ad won alight& to irpO.0~0tho pod accident rater of previour par.. For purporar of corpsriaon, the 1952 rmcord ir rhom balm with tho @*%vmritj,a nuuro of tb wriotuasr of mcidonts, ioa ratio of

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Director. The accident rrg.rioaco for thio operation war goad; t h a e wm IY) sarioun accidank to tort pnsoand axi thae m e m fk. lorn.. operation; thew coarrultantr were m n of national stature i n safety phana &Ills Stout, on loan frorr C W I Diririon, altorratod as S.iotf Officer on the rtaff of the Scientific Task Group C d a . for tho Ivy op ation matehod the good reailto obtalmd i n past operatloxm. Thmo wem 8eriour injuries to test pr so dad fire lorser vBre i n both g.wour .ad liqwfird form uore hndld without major w & m r d A 8 tln you odd, H-3 oontiaud ita aaaociation with J-Dltirion in pmpuation for the fortbcoriag tort opsratiolm 8ch.dul.d for 1953 and

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dekFled fill-out study. The principal reason far t h i s dovelopent vas mtdy writton in it a fir rt draft by tb otd o f tb yur.

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rune in an edoavor to perfect methods of sampling d to d ttan in th m dtatsibution of uootuirntion i n the various effluent stroma. -e il.o auietmd a t4.p from the Bureau of Mnsa i n a ntrkr of t?U r u ~on tho ineimrator during uhich rodfficatdolu ware Y d e to *or. tho a ff i aio q of cw tion. Tho Buruu o f )(Lrur group h e Mmbars of the group participated i n each o f those

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of unit i ring tho coffw jugs used throughout this area. ofl u8ad in l u g e quantities i n one of the shop uas also aubfoctad to koturlologlcal investlgationa through the help of the h u l a Hedth tho o i l thoroughly when these facilities nre mod into the mw shop buildlag on South &sa. Tho oil vu fod to k heavily c0ntUint.d uith a variety Aa a result, it is plsnned to clean both tho ~ ~ h i n s aa d n u - A variety of XW mtorials of ~ 8 h r e 6 tto ths 1durtri.l R7girne Croup m e intraduced into tho Laboratory in rppreci- -ling program vaa coductod for a poriod of throe montb in order to dekrmfm tho potunt1.l h r u d froa DP Sit., should tho decirioa bo d e +A construct houdag in this area. Here, .grin, tho rent ltr wro ontiraly

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