Archive description
This report is a transcript of an interview with William D. Moss by representatives of the US DOE Office of Human Radiation Experiments. Mr. Moss was selected for this interview because of his work at Los Alamos National Laboratory concerning analytical methods in the chemical determination of plutonium in biological materials. After a brief biographical sketch, Mr. Moss relates his understanding of how occupational exposure limits were determined for the Manhattan Project, how data from those workers who were exposed to plutonium was collected and analyzed, how the experiments were planned and data was gathered from plutonium or polonium injections in man, how problems with analytical procedures compounded health physics aspects of the project, and problems remaining in the interpretation of these data.
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Septem ber 1995 SetBng: November 30,1994, Los Alamos, New Mexico Interviewers: Marisa Caputo and Darrell Fisher (DOE Office of Human Radiation Experiments) ORAL HISTORY OF BIOCHEMIST Conducted on November 30, 1994, in Los Alamos, New Mexico, by Dr. Darrell Fisher, a health physicistfrom Pacific Northwest Laboratory, and Marisa Caputo, Oral History Team Leader and Special Assistantfrom the Office o f Human M diation Experiments, U.S. Department o f Energy. William D. Moss was selectedfor the Oral History Project because o f hisplutonium chemistry research at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Specifically, il4r. Moss has been one o f the primary researchers in the yearly studies o f the Los Alamos plutonium workers. In addition, M'. Moss studied bioassay, the metabolism o f plutonium in the human body, and tpdated the Langham excretionfunctions for his B.S. (Chemistry and Biology, 1950) from Sterling College in Sterling, Kansas. Mr. Moss has also taken advanced courses at the University of New Mexico, Los Alamos Center. Mr. Moss joined the staff of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1953 and is still employed at the Laboratory. From 1953 to 1957, Mr. Moss was a Chemical Technician in the Health Division’s Industrial Hygiene Division (H-5). He became a staffmember in H-5 in 1958. From 1964 to the present, Mr. Moss has held the following positions within H-5: Altemate Section Leader, Bioanalytical and Chemistry Section; Acting Section Leader, Bioanalytical and Chem istry Section; and Section Leader, Bioanalytical and Chemistry Section. Mr. Moss has focused his work on analytical chemistry related to industrial hygiene and health physics. Moreover, he has set up sampling methods for toxic materials and evaluation of occupational health hazards. Specifically, Mr. Moss has researched and published numer ous articles on the medical follow-up studies of the Los Alamos plutonium workers and on the effect of plutonium on the human body. Early Career at Los Alamos CAPUTO: Today is November 30,1994. My name is Marisa Caputo. I’m with the Office of Human Radiation Experiments of the Department of Energy [(DOE)]. With me is Dr. Darrell Fisher from Pacific Northwest Labora tory. We’re here today at Los Alamos National Laboratory’ to interview William Moss about his experiences at Los Alamos, and his knowledge of human radiation experimentation that occurred here. Mr. Moss, I’d like you to begin with a quick sketch of your educational background and what brought you to Los Alamos to begin with. ’ Los Alamos was a key research and development center for the secret effort during World War II to create the first atomic bomb, the Manhattan Project Subsequently, as a National Laboratory o f the Department of Energy and its predecessors, Los Alamos has been a research and development center for nuclear weapon designs, high-energy physics research, and other scientific endeavors.
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