Empirical evaluation of lung solubilities of airborne contamination at Harwell facilities

Abstract

Lung solubility is the key parameter in determining intakes and doses from inhalation of airborne contamination. However, information on lung solubility can be difficult to acquire, particularly for the historical exposures that are of relevance to lifetime-dose reconstruction. In this study, an empirical approach has been made in which over 200 dose assessments, mainly for Pu and Am, from the period 1986 to 2005 were re-evaluated and the solubility mix required for the best fit to the data was determined. The average of these solubility mixtures for any building or facility can be used as the default solubility for retrospective dose assessments for that facility. Results are presented for a radiochemistry facility, a materials development facility and a waste-storage/handling building at Harwell. The latter two areas are characterised by aerosols that are predominantly insoluble (type S), whereas the radiochemistry facility has a heterogeneous mixture of insoluble and soluble aerosols. The implications of these results for dose reconstruction are discussed in the paper.