United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries. Annual report

Abstract

The United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries are unique human tissue research programs studying the distribution, dose, and possible biological effects of the actinide elements in man, with the primary goal of assuring the adequacy of radiation protection standards for these radionuclides. The Registries research is based on radiochemical analysis of tissues collected at autopsy from voluntary donors who have documented occupational exposure to the actinides. To date, tissues, or in some cases radioanalytical results only, have been obtained from approximately 300 individuals; another 464 living individuals have volunteered to participate in the Registries research programs and have signed premortem informed consent and autopsy permissions. The Registries originated at the National Plutonium Registry which was started in 1968 as a then Atomic Energy Commission project under the aegis of a prime contractor at the Hanford site. In 1970, the name was changed to the United States Transuranium Registry to reflect a broader involvement with the higher actinides. In 1978, an administratively separate parallel registry, the United States Uranium Registry, was formed to carry out similar studies among uranium fuel cycle workers.