H Division Progress Report (April 20 - May 20, 1960)

Page 1

Induced Phosphorus-j2 Activity of Hair as a Biolo,@cel Dosimeter for Fast Neutron Exposure in Critical it y Accidents. The hi& sulfur content of w tih gc and bir van utilized to provide an cstfmate of the fast neutron dose sustained by the fatally irradiated victfm I.. the nost recent Los Ab508critical it y accident of December 30, 1958. Subsequent stubLe6 have s h m that by IAUUIUin6 beta activity ariring from theS 32(n,p)$" reaction, the incident fast neutron dose c e be computed vithln an accuracy of ' 5 per cent. An uttensive series of suL'ur and phosphoms amdynes of hair obtained from the had, chest, ab-, pubis, and remarkably const at an& that the aaount of phosphorus i s negligible. hair spechens sod exposed to t h e neutron spectaua o f Godim 111. activity present in an mated sanple Is derived from neutron cape by Thk Lo8 Alamos plastic rum, RMCAX., vas fitted vith approprla-ly louted cxperimcuts it vas possible t o hetennine accurately the fast neutron dose blstributloa rod to establish the ori er lta tiw of the ~ B Ui n relation to the 6sseubly. Further, since tke neutron spectrum or Godiva I11 is reasonably vell defined, t o t a l neutron dose ertL Mt as were calculated and founG to be i n good agreement d-th estimates bued on physical doslmetry. These studies thus provide a mpid .3A rauorvbly accurate method for cstFmatiag neutron doses utilizing readily available bldlogieal material frcm fixed watcmical locations. The lover U t of sensitivity of t h e nethod Fs mppn*xlnmtely 1 rad of neutrons of toergles above 2.5 MeV.

Page 2

*Yncludes 14 casual and 2 suimer employees. 1. C u l Buckland attended the Industrial ifealth Ccnferraee f n Zocnester, Nev York from April 25 throu& April 28. April 19; the shipment o f radionctive raterials was dlscussed. 2. Cbulcs BLockweJJ attcndtd at ralf ic meeting in Albuquerque on Don Xc Kova drparted for !fI'S on May 16 to cover thc Kiwi prow. John Ehders was a t LIS all month. tba nay fila badge took phcc.A8 soon a8 the bmvlnp are completed b new d l axpoiwe c.rds (intcgrsted y e a r b Personnel exposures) for inclusion fn the Medical Recor4.s are being supplied vltha dupllcate deck of 'IBM . This replacer the procedure rued in t h e past of hand entries from listings. 3. Neutron md gmy meumranents vtre taken in the vicinity or Kiwi-A' durlng lw powr mi. A t 200 ft, 7600 rut, L3,500 thermal n/cn -see, and 23 n r , h were d8t.ct.d. The core read j.3 r/hr contact at h.3 hours mer scram the. decay follou%ng scmm was slightly mort mpid than calculated. 4. The work order Lealth clearance list uss revised egis cr f ter ? ~ 5evk : 1. A caber of P-9 questioned the n lia bf lft y of the tritl especially wltb the nniL*.istation sampler 13 relation to the release 10c oi T3 at 200 psi were de. on ~ . y4 the first of a series o tre le arcs up toa -ximum oi opanlnng doors the activity cl cared In 21 : .ac) mlnutcr.

Page 3

. b. In general, tr4t:um rises and co activity is detected much below . thr polnt of relase. Trl t lun det2ctors should be used at head height o r pcater. c. Instmment response is not in rt mbe o us. e. No one bad a positive urim count. On Hay 16 a pout r run vLth C&M took place at TA-@ for approximately was mearured at the railroad gate md 50 mrem/hr ntthe CP. Man’/ neutron and pmna mcssurements vere made. An average of 75 arcx,kr this period sfter hro vceko of intensified gc nb bing. NI of +*he electronic T m t c were erected outside thc bciidlir; (IS a base x? operatimr,. of =he er huo t systee end drybo:(; ;he surface comt docs n ? t exceed 200 c/n. and an the working of D-38 ina Wethod X and Ultrasonic =chine in Shop 2. wr kv as acoaupllshed under a solution of one fonu o r another, no hoodfag n s required provided a more active note rial vas nut introduced. Air soaples and samples of kerosaoe have been negative and there has been no contamfnatlan rpretid. Hfnimd, protective clofhing hcs been vorn and respiratozs have been wade a vai h ble in case of fire. The decoctamlaation and monitoring of Building 21, Tk-35, was cazp2eted 4. Severel discussiors vere &e v i t h SD administratlve personnel concerning I A. Accidcnt Record Jan 1 to Moy I, 1960 u22 Nmbcr of D lublin g Injuries 4 19 Number of Days Lort 23 36,522 Severity ( h y s Lost per 1,0oo,mManhours1 ll 5,780 B. Industrial Accident weriecce There vere no l o s t time accidents duzing this report period. There yere no h bore tory fires durine this report perid otter thsn n iw brush fins irrrn test firing act lv it ics.

Page 4

D. Motor Vehicle Acczdents Jm 1 t o Yay 1, 1940, a 2 'here were four motor vehicle accidents involving Lobotlttary 'personnel during April.All four acclCcnts rere bnckize occldcnts. C. Austin aurch a&Cisrence Couzrtricht attended the a n n u l AEC SDfety where he is Safety Advisor for Project Rovcr. iLso consulted the Safety Division, Office of the Chief of Ordna3ce. 4. Mr.L. C. Matthcws of the Linde Canpany and Safety C005dbnt to the Laborstory vis lt cd the TievadA Test Site oc May 13 to consult on safety problems of Project Rover. 5 . The film "Safety Experiments witha Doilinc; Reactor" waa sham four ttms to approximately 1 0 people during t!!~w ort period. 6. Rcprurentatives of H-3, N - 3 and WC-4 met to discuss proposed l i q u i d '1. Roc ~ eod ation swere nade t o @L.-5 on ahi & pressure gas syrter, vhich they plan t o use a'. (L firing pad. 6. Mr. SChrdUberg, dispensing Opt?cim, MS taken t o Ten Site to is xe Rec-nbtions were msde to CYB-6 on their W se current meteal formlag ail plat lng systce. LASL perticlpatFon uas limited to the release from off1ci.l duty of about 100 employees vho were members of civil defense uits. 11. A ~ urve yvas msde of KT Building t o evaluate fin ant cr ft i a ali ty 10. Wing OPAL 60 on ?lay problem of working with Rover canpoaents. Eaglnecrs xet a t Los Alarnos and part of the p r o m was a tour of the LXiL ChcmicaL Uuehoue; the C02 u tiny in bing systcm vas demonstrated. 12. Clareace CorPtriWt spoke t o the Srndia Corporatlon Juniper Com ltte e on 13. 011 April 22 the Xew 14exlco Chptcr of the ker l csn Society of safety

Page 5

A. Evaluation and Control Work toluene, butyl acetate, =ethyl ethyl ketone, ~d mi. faund but rrcomnndrrtions vcrc cmde where increased usa@ of there motcrtrLs i s Seayllium exposures uere varied although no mchLn1ng of 'oeryUftnn vcs carried out during this period. No exccsriva exposures =re Sanples vere collected during cleanina of An invastigPtion uvm d e of the use or quantities OS yttm the opcrntion of 09 ultrasonic cleaner i n Group !d-T. continuous J per at tOD, the tm,perature of the 'XE rose sufficiently so that air coocentrsticas in the vicinity v.ceeded 200 ppr. aecarnnendatious were de that they work ina hood .cd proride An investigation was a l s o made of trichloroethylene expos-r during After a feu &utea of Recommrndrtiorrs for control VI^ P-6 for ve at il sti on of a ucv plutonirm amxi a t Ten Site vert discussed filters OD thd exhausted air. o f tcflon-utruhtk& equipment at TD Site. Shop 15, TA-1, we checked the pre swr c &q across tlic mvcrsc Jet fLlter a d found loved to the nod range. Rcccumc.vktions have also been lnade for ventilation Following reports or high air counts a t After opcratlna the rcversc jet, the pressure hj3 uar Eight ret6 of pus related to vcntiktton vere reviewed d hppmved. during the month.

Page 6

Ouring this period 14 men from M-3 were fi CM vith balf msks i n the test cbamber. Also, approximately 90 college rtubentc vere f-th rer pir stor s AS pc- of s demonstration during a tour ofthe building. Scott Air P& have heen purchaded and p l ~ c e davaiLsble for use by the protective clothing for protection dr;rine sodim $ires. Special constant flow air assks were rugplied to K S i t e for use inside the air gun and for the Plastic; Section of Croup '3.B-6 during 'a%cleming. Appropriate msks huvc also been su?plicd to Z is painters on spcclal 9. Research and ikvelopnent 1. It is expected that Wooro:ory LIE field uork on the :,-si*&&$ air tine is being spent OD pot tlc lc sizing, alphs counting, uranium analyses, a d calculations. This is in prey ration for presented at the Internat lom i Conferenct: 05 Occupationel iW.itine i n Jrtly. report on this proJect vsch vill be 2. ExperLn:ental uork and nost of tbe cslculatioac, have bee%ccrmplehd on tbt study ~f the particle size of plutoni-an dust. is partially cq let eat the present tise. The report on this project Cazpltte. Much of the equip ent has almid;). beer. sent to the test olte and others are beiw crated am€-de ready f o r shlpmfnt. radio cte dr try uork i n conjunction vith the fallout ttud;r. t h c counting equipment have been deolkned aid fabricated. for xcsurins deposition fallout has been built an& i s being mounted on bicycle vhcelr. Special dose r a t e meters for m.esasuriq the aossge during cloud passagc hve been designed and construction is ahost complete. nearly cmp let e on equip ent fog slmltaneous beta and &amn counting on sse;pler. The pulse height andper has beec cang1ctd.y checked Out and is b e b e preporcd A trsLlcr laborstory hcs becr, 3ccured and is ocins equipped f o r A heavy shteldcd device lut ncoth'r report is noy being implemented. btiag rJde of the fluorimetric uranium procedure. accea ~ x yt o enable this procedure to meet the rigid standards required. As 1. fimt step a detailed study is

Page 7

of opcnlng'ank disposing of certain highly contaoinnttd desiccators. To xl c itf infarmation ue8 prepared in response to requests for ido mati on about z rsoprene adhesivc and dso about gadolinium. The Ct4R SBfety Ib dO ok is bein; revised a d we have consulted several tines ufth lous us persons concerned wfta the tht p h r r of deillgn by the architect to&neer. rrprcscntrtives of .>e Carborundum Cwpany and Nuclear Development Corporation On Conrultetion MS a l a 0 given to techniques and hsalth hazards involved in rundSing plutanfuia. Eutrgy Commfsrion and tho bard School of Pub llc Hedth in a conference i n Tvo mabars of the Croup ppriicigottd vith representatives of the ' * d c Group R-5's interest in this conference WAC concerned icostly dth aspects of particle sizfne u a considcnrtion Frr hazard evaluation. The -neering Development Section Leader spoke to the conference of Blanedlcal p r o m Directors on the subject of fallout serrmrtmcnt in connection Amerlcnn Industrial Hyglene Association i n Rocheater, New York. fie a l s o spoke on x'espimtors at M orientation course for PuI'bzY Three members of t!!e Group attcnEed the meeting of the Dr. Alan Kaltz uf Biancdical PmcedlllYs, North Hollywood, California, spent one day v l t h the Laboratory Section during the month. blr. George Velford of tbe Health and Safety Laboratory, new York Operations Office, spent a week dth the Group utchneFng idonnation on M vio us matters relating to snslytical chenistry. 1. Air samples collected or field tests mde for : Methyl etbyl ketone 5

Page 8

Tritium in water a. P . Lee VLI a t NTS fmm April 27 t o Hay 20. He vorked vith the TCd Safe Advisory group there snd gave supervisory assistance on the r d i . e O o 2. Work io Propress wound mmitor bas been received and i o k i n g checked out. Pr8UmlaUY observations luvt t o be mniured. Wether this ic cawed by a cmlfuactlon of the lnstnnnent is t o One of these is for H-l) aod t h e other c. Several types of l w - level beta ray counttnc setups are being inveatl(gttd to select a suitable one for the Envlronmenhl Rab tion Section of E-6. O f the cath t lng group of the Shops Daputm-nt. d. Wok on the mohlficatlon of the Lor Alapos densitmetcr 1s e. A punch to code .Ol" lead shettr with a 5 didt 2 nunbar Fo binary The &awiagc~ are now in the hands

Page 9

the film with the nultl-elemen'. filters on it i:*. one, then the response is placed over t h e nultl-element filters. element filter and rik gac;izt. final design of thc fikr bake. e. A slmilar situation of eddc lcn).lrgc vas found todst with sft is due t o radiation scattcrcd i n t o th: fLitercd area 2-om thc plastic outside tke t h e rerponse 1s much lower. en areas because *he scatter cross section is highcr the laver the energy. I s nov being investfgatad forn filter ALVS of 1ca square. A t 43 Kev noost of the response of thc film under t3c n:ulti-Clement filter Thus i f one sur roa ~ 0 sthe filter viih leui be dh kcl y adjacent t o it This phenanenon is aoat prooouccd a t the lowest 3. Work C aq let ed a. A memo incorpox.tinE the radiation eq os w measurements uith vere cde with film budges snd in&- foils. b. A seoond prototype film baC3e vcs desimed w f t t the help of :I-1. 0. !f. Stopinski departed f x I\% Agril %k wd retuned on April 30. 1. vork in Proptss Xork continues on t h c Local climatologLca1 study. A tentative pr3gz-m of support for the turret reactor 32; Seen tmller is in pro gets. far rtl on and pcrslstencs of temperature in ven ions. bo* ordered u d di6cusr;Lons held relative to loc dl const mc tion of triresonde 4 - t (lev lava1 sounding in st ment ation) since sucii units are no longer To this end, wmris :rave

Page 10

b. Field support f o r the Baya Cmym OperatLon v a s provlded on Kay 4. c. Field support for c13K-4 vas provided a t I1 S i t e on May ll. d. A study of probable fallout fran a 10,oOO megs'dutt reactor var b!!m cli a ate studies were made d fonrardsd. durim the month. b. No lone lived alpha activity has been detected by the cornmunfty The caonunity bet. gmau moaitors shoved no unusual activity durine; Vi11 …