Plutonium Aerosol Informatics: Update on Understanding, Communicating, and Managing Radiation Safety in Plutonium Science

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cash LJ ; Hoover, Mark D.
• Description:
  Recent work to create a second edition of the classic Plutonium Handbook includes a new chapter on Plutonium Aerosol Characterization and Safety Issues. The chapter features a "plutonium aerosol informatics approach" that is defined as the science and practice of determining which information is relevant to meeting the safety, health, well-being, and productivity objectives of the plutonium science and engineering community, and then developing and implementing effective mechanisms for collecting, validating, storing, sharing, analyzing, modeling, and applying the information; confirming that appropriate decisions were made and that desired mission outcomes were achieved as a result of that information; and finally conveying experience to the broader community, contributing to generalized knowledge, and updating standards and training. Key aerosol concepts are that: Airborne materials can exist in a range of forms; a range of mechanisms influence particle motion and collection; inertia dominates the larger particle behavior, while diffusion dominates ultrafine particle behavior; a range of mechanisms influence particle suspension from surfaces; "dustiness" is a concept for understanding the condition-dependent dispersibility of particles; thermodynamic and aerodynamic equivalent diameters are related and can both be used to characterize particle deposition in the respiratory tract; regional deposition in the respiratory tract is strongly dependent on particle size; airborne particle number concentrations of concern depend on the material of concern; the probability of particle inhalation for materials of high specific activity can be very low at airborne particle number concentrations of concern; a combination of factors influence the total probability of aerosol dispersion and health consequences; and aerosol dispersion parameters are best addressed as probability distributions. These concepts will be discussed along with some practical illustrative examples. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Air Pollutants, Occupational Behavior Dust Engineering Lung Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory System Safety Staff Development

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• Keywords:
  Airborne Particles Airborne Particulates Dust Exposure Dusts Health Protection Information Dissemination Models Particulates Plutonium Compounds Pulmonary Function Respiratory Function Safety Measures Standards Thermodynamic Properties Training

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• ISSN:
  0017-9078
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  New Mexico ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 6 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  115
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20051700
• Citation:
  Health Phys 2018 Jul; 115(Suppl 1):S99-S100
• Email:
  mhoover1@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Plutonium (CAS RN 7440-07-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Health Physics
• Supplement:
  1
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:38908251c3f847689991e0360fb2199e63cfdc4c28a89d03678d2a91652c8fdd820590772e953a39055712e9af5a6b9141fc9f8c448a57ae5ddc121c0b558411
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/211514/cdc_211514_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 224.74 KB ]