Characterization of Internal Exposure to Enriched Uranium at a Former Gaseous Diffusion Plant

Details

• Personal Author:
  Anderson, Jeri L. ; Spitz HB ; Yiin JH
• Description:
  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is conducting a nested case-control study of mortality from multiple myeloma involving 581 subjects who worked at the Oak Ridge K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant. Internally-deposited uranium is the primary agent being considered in the exposure assessment. Routine operation and maintenance of the plant presented the potential for inhaling uranium of various enrichments. As part of the exposure assessment, records describing the various plant processes and procedures, documentation on the medical monitoring program, uranium urinalysis data, and procedures and analytical methods for monitoring uranium exposure were retrieved and reviewed. Uranium urinalysis data consisted of 161,055 uranium urinalysis results obtained by fluorometry and 171,914 results obtained by alpha particle counting. Approximately 20% of the workers were monitored for internal exposure using urine sampling. Mean and median uranium concentrations in urine for the monitored study subjects were slightly lower than for the entire population of monitored K-25 workers. The specific activity of uranium excreted in urine was determined by comparing results obtained using fluorometric and alpha activity measurements and indicate that the majority of internal exposure involved uranium that was depleted or enriched to no more than 4% 235U. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biological Assay Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Mortality Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory System Safety Uranium Urine Workplace
• Keywords:
  Bioassays Inhalation-studies Medical-monitoring Mortality-rates Mortality-surveys Particle-aerodynamics Particle-counters Statistical-analysis Uranium-compounds Urinalysis Urine-chemistry Work-environment

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• ISSN:
  0017-9078
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  93
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20032957
• Citation:
  Health Phys 2007 Dec; 93(6):636-644
• Contact Point Address:
  Jeri L. Anderson, NIOSH, DSHEFS, 5555 Ridge Avenue, R-44, Cincinnati, OH 45213
• Email:
  JLAnderson@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Health Physics
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a7d6aaaf99b286b3e94e1677566ffd0f30c5611f5889d91750e5703381f0d8f01c39d821232da172e7613779b119525d4b78992dccdffe82cda0e20edfb9e779
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/188712/cdc_188712_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 467.55 KB ]