Estimation of Radon Exposures to Workers at the Fernald Feed Materials Production Center 1952–1988

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brewer DE ; Hornung, Richard W. ; Killough GG ; Lodwick J ; Nasuta J ; Pinney SM
• Description:
  The Feed Materials Production Center (FMPC) at Fernald, Ohio produced uranium metal products for use in Department of Energy defense programs. Radium-contaminated waste material was stored on-site in two K-65 silos on the west side of the facility and provided a source of 222Ra. The initial objective of this study was to estimate radon exposures to employees at FMPC working from 1952 to 1988. A modified Gaussian plume model was used to estimate exposures to workers. In an effort to validate these model-based estimates, we used 138 CR-39 film assays from window glass sampled in buildings throughout the site. Results from the CR-39 assays indicated a second substantial source of radon, the smaller Q-11 silos located in the production area. A response-surface regression analysis using a cubic spline model was fit to the CR-39 data to estimate 210Po surface activity levels at geographic coordinates throughout the facility. Knowledge of the age of the glass, the amount of contaminated waste in the Q-11 silos, and 210Po decay rates were used to estimate annual exposures to radon decay products (WLM: working level months). Estimated WLM levels associated with the Q-11 source term indicated that employees working in the vicinity during the period when they were filled with radium-contaminated waste (1952-1958) received substantially higher radon exposures than those from the K-65 source during this period. Results of the two models, corresponding to the K-65 and Q-11 sources, were combined to estimate WLM levels by year for each of the 7143 Fernald workers during the period 1952-1988. Estimated cumulative exposures to individual workers ranged from <0.5 to 751 WLM. Estimated radon exposures from this newly discovered source have important implications for future epidemiologic studies of lung cancer in workers at the Fernald facility. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Monitoring Lung Lung Diseases Neoplasms Occupational Health Radiation Radiation Dosimeters Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Surface-Active Agents Uranium Waste Management Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Dosimetry Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Exposure-methods Lung-cancer Pulmonary-system-disorders Radioactive-contaminants Radioactive-materials Respiratory-system-disorders Surfactants Uranium-compounds Waste-disposal Workplace-studies

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• ISSN:
  1559-0631
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  18
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20034182
• Citation:
  J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 2008 Sep; 18(5):512-523
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr. S.M. Pinney, Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, P.O. Box 670056, Cincinnati, Ohio 45167-0056
• Email:
  susan.pinney@uc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• Performing Organization:
  University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19990701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology
• End Date:
  20011030
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:944b011444a53ae4f47c61e5e4fe0b4891f590eeab5714c77c89f44c68d1498a59967b31b3c6a38f5be2866f4dc69251ecaa9dc0cf08f36caaabfa96cbe76a5d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/189518/cdc_189518_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 322.00 KB ]