Weapons Production Facilities Research Articles

Autobiography of Stanley I. Sandler.

I review my career from its academic beginning to my recent retirement. I grew up and studied chemical engineering in New York City. My initial failure to understand thermodynamics the way it had been taught, evidenced by the difficulty I had when starting graduate school, led me years later to write a textbook on the subject that is now in a fifth edition, in addition to other books I have written. My research areas have included molecular simulation, statistical- and quantum mechanical-based methods, and a variety of experimental thermodynamic measurements. In addition, I have been a consultant in traditional chemical engineering areas, as well in nontraditional areas, such as assisting in the design of a heat shield for interplanetary exploration, the destruction of armed chemical weapons, and the cleanup of nuclear weapons production facilities.

Wanted: Long-term storage solutions for nuclear waste

More than a quarter million metric tons of highly radioactive waste sits in storage near nuclear power plants and weapons production facilities worldwide, with over 90,000 metric tons in the US alone. Emitting radiation that can pose serious risks to human health and the environment, the waste, much of it decades old, awaits permanent disposal in geological repositories, but none are operational. With nowhere to go for now, the hazardous materials and their containers continue to age. That unsustainable situation is driving corrosion experts to better understand how steel, glass, and other materials proposed for long-term nuclear waste storage containers might degrade. Read on to learn how these researchers’ findings might help protect people and the environment from waste leakages. “Regardless of whether you are for or against nuclear power, and no matter what you think of nuclear weapons, the radioactive waste is already here, and we have to deal

Anthropogenic radioactive particles in the environment

Radioactive particles have been released from multiple sources since the mid-twentieth century. Famous examples include nuclear fuel particles from Chernobyl, glassy microparticles from Fukushima as well as particles from nuclear weapons production facilities (e.g., Windscale, United Kingdom and the facilities in the former Soviet Union), nuclear weapons accidents at Palomares (Spain) and Thule (Greenland), and atmospheric nuclear explosions. Current challenges in environmental research of radioactive particles include the drying of the cooling pond of Chernobyl NPP, which will cause the weathering of previously preserved fuel particles in the (former) sediment of the pond. Environmental aspects of resuspended particles as well as natural particles and aerosols contaminated with radionuclides (e.g., 131I) are briefly discussed.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE RUSSIAN HEALTH STUDIES PROGRAM AND UPDATED RESEARCH FINDINGS.

Recognized for conducting cutting-edge science in the field of radiation health effects research, the Department of Energy's (DOE) Russian Health Studies Program has continued to generate excitement and enthusiasm throughout its 23-year mission to assess worker and public health risks from radiation exposure resulting from nuclear weapons production activities in the former Soviet Union. The three goals of the Program are to: (1) clarify the relationship between health effects and chronic, low-to-medium dose radiation exposure; (2) estimate the cancer risks from exposure to gamma, neutron, and alpha radiation; and (3) provide information to the national and international organizations that determine radiation protection standards and practices. Research sponsored by DOE's Russian Health Studies Program is conducted under the authority of the Joint Coordinating Committee for Radiation Effects Research (JCCRER), a bi-national committee representing Federal agencies in the United States and the Russian Federation. Signed in 1994, the JCCRER Agreement established the legal basis for the collaborative research between USA and Russian scientists to determine the risks associated with working at or living near Russian former nuclear weapons production sites. The products of the Program are peer-reviewed publications on cancer risk estimates from worker and community exposure to ionizing radiation following the production of nuclear weapons in Russia. The scientific return on investment has been substantial. Through 31 December 2015, JCCRER researchers have published 299 peer-reviewed publications. To date, the research has focused on the Mayak Production Association (Mayak) in Ozersk, Russia, which is the site of the first Soviet nuclear weapons production facility, and people in surrounding communities along the Techa River. There are five current projects in the Russian Health Studies Program: two radiation epidemiology studies; two historical dose reconstruction studies and a worker biorepository. National and international standard-setting organizations use cancer risk estimates computed from epidemiological and historical dose reconstruction studies to validate or revise radiation protection standards. An overview of the most important research results will be presented.

Exposure and genetics increase risk of beryllium sensitisation and chronic beryllium disease in the nuclear weapons industry

ObjectivesBeryllium sensitisation (BeS) and chronic beryllium disease (CBD) are caused by exposure to beryllium with susceptibility affected by at least one well-studied genetic host factor, a glutamic acid residue at...

The polonium-210 public health assessment: the need for medical toxicology expertise in radiation terrorism events.

In 1989, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) brought together a group of subject matter experts to form the Radiation Studies Branch (RSB). CDC tasked the RSB staff with assessing potential environmental health impacts of radiation released from US Department of Energy nuclear weapons production facilities. Shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, however, the mission of the RSB expanded to include (and to focus on) preparing the nation’s public health community, healthcare providers and citizens for intentional (i.e., terrorism-related) radiological incidents, accidents involving exposures to radiation, and unintentional environmental releases of radioactive materials. In late 2006, an event occurred in the UK for which the RSB was uniquely suited to respond. The radioactive isotope polonium-210 (Po) was deliberately used as a weapon against one person and, perhaps accidentally, released into the environment. Initially, it was unclear how many bystanders might have been unintended victims of the radioactive chemical. Some of those bystanders included American citizens travelling abroad at the time. The health physics and medical staff of the RSB promptly responded to requests for assistance from the US Department of State and the Health Protection Agency (HPA) of the UK to screen American citizens who had possibly come into contact with Po during their travel abroad. RSB staff also provided guidance and advice to individual citizens and to their physicians, to the US Department of Health and Human Services, to the media, and to the public at large about potential risks of adverse health effects from internal contamination. Finally, RSB staff helped coordinate the collection of biological specimens from concerned US citizens and provided interpretation of those results. In the autumn of 2006, residents of and visitors to London were held hostage by something they could not see, hear, smell, or taste: the radioactive isotope, Po. The apparent target of this deadly substance was a single individual—a former KGB agent who was an outspoken critic of the Russian government, Alexander Litvinenko. Indeed, approximately 3 weeks after the isotope had been smuggled into England and poured into his tea, Mr. Litvinenko succumbed to Po poisoning. But although this Russian dissident was the specific target, by the end of November, British officials had identified others who had been contaminated—presumably inadvertently—with this radioactive material. In the interim, other officials were discovering a forensic trail of Po throughout London and its suburbs. The spread of radiological material into the environment (whether by means of explosion or by simple dispersion) is what defines a radiological dispersal device (RDD) event. Inadvertent releases of radiological material may reasonably be classified as RDD “type” events as well. In Goiânia, Brazil (1987), for example, metal scavengers

Bias and uncertainty of penetrating photon dose measured by film dosemeters in an epidemiological study of US nuclear workers

A retrospective exposure assessment of 1269 study subjects was completed for use in a multi-site case-control study of the relationship between protracted workplace external radiation exposure and leukaemia mortality. The majority of exposure data result from film badge monitoring programmes at the four US weapons production facilities and a US Naval shipyard. Bias and uncertainty in reported exposures among study facilities and across time were as result of differences in incident photon energy, exposure geometry, dosemeter type and dosimetry methods. These sources of measurement uncertainty were examined by facility and time to derive bias factors (B) for normalising exposures. In conjunction with facility reported results, the bias factors provide a means to estimate the equivalent dose, penetrating to a depth of 10 mm [H(p)(10)] and the equivalent dose to the active bone marrow for use in the epidemiological study. Uncertainty was expressed as the constructed 95% confidence interval (i.e. the 2.5th-97.5th% range) of the estimated parameter. The bias factors indicate that recorded exposures provide a reasonable estimate of H(p)(10) (bias factor near unity) and overestimate equivalent dose to active bone marrow (H(T)) by a factor between 1.2 and 1.7. On average, dosemeter-response uncertainties estimated using Monte Carlo simulation were approximately +/-19 and +/-33% for H(p)(10) and H(T), respectively.

ALTERING A TREATY

LIBYA HAS RECEIVED SUPPORT for its request to amend the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention so that it can convert a former chemical weapons production facility into a civilian pharmaceutical plant. The 41-member Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which oversees the treaty, unanimously recommended the technical change. To take effect, the request now must be considered by all nations party to the treaty. If no nation objects, the is considered adopted, OPCW spokesman Peter Kaiser says. Approval is expected by December and is strongly supported by the U.S. The change is viewed as an incentive to get other nations to join the treaty As Eric M. Javits, head of the U.S. delegation to OPCW explained at the Executive Council meeting, the change will work not just for Libya, but for any future acceding state that may possess a chemical weapons production facility and legitimately wish to convert it ...

Logistics planning under uncertainty for disposition of radioactive wastes

The US Department of Energy (DOE) faces an enormous environmental remediation challenge involving highly radioactive wastes at former weapons production facilities. The purpose of this analysis is to focus on equipment acquisition and fleet sizing issues related to transportation of wastes from remediation sites to disposal sites. Planning for the transportation of these wastes must be done with recognition of important uncertainties related to overall quantities of waste to be moved, the rate at which the wastes will be prepared for transport, and the certification of suitable transportation containers for use in the effort. However, deadlines for completion of the effort have already been set by the political process, without much regard for these uncertainties. To address this fleet sizing problem, we have created a robust optimization model that focuses on equipment investment decisions. Through this robust optimization, we illustrate how modeling can be used to explore the effects of uncertainty on the equipment acquisition strategy. The disposition of radioactive wastes from DOE sites is an important illustration of a category of problems where equipment investments must be made under conditions of considerable uncertainty. The methodology illustrated in this paper can be applied to this general class of problems.

Laser scanning confocal microscopic investigations of simulated nuclear waste structures

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Savannah River Technology Center are using advanced microscopy techniques to understand the effects of trace organic chemical additions on nuclear waste slurry flow properties. Trace organic chemicals, surfactants (rheology modifiers), are being used in all types of industries to modify the flow properties of various commercial chemicals. Nuclear waste treatment at the Department of Energy's weapons production facilities, Savannah River Site and Hanford Reservation, is limited by the viscosity of the nuclear waste slurries as the material is processed through a variety of waste treatment and immobilization processes. The picture was taken using a laser scanning confocal microscope.

Contributions of radioecology to the development of some modern concepts of ecotoxicology : From ecological half-life to monitored natural attenuation

Many of the modern concepts used in ecotoxicology have historical roots in earlier thinking from the field of radioecology. An example is the concept of Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA), which is an approach to the remediation of contaminated waste sites, based on the natural degradation, sequestration or aging of toxic substances ; contaminant inventory reduction proceeds in the absence of engineered treatment or removal activities. Because of potentially reduced costs compared to other alternatives for waste site remediation, MNA has rapidly become a popular topic for research and development. Many years ago however, the field of radioecology recognized that biota and other ecosystem components contaminated with radioactive materials naturally decreased their contaminant burdens over time as the result of physical isotope decay and/or as the contaminants were sequestered or otherwise became unavailable for biological uptake. In the field of radioecology, this process is quantified as the ecological half-life (EHL), which is the time required for a population or other ecosystem component to reduce its contaminant burden by 50 % after first coming into a steady-state with contaminant levels in other parts of its environment. Because of the ease with which they can be quantified in living organisms and environmental media, gamma-emitting radionuclides have proved particularly useful for describing and quantifying EHLs in a variety of habitats. We summarize EHL studies based on more than 30 years of data for declines in 137 Cs levels in habitats at a former nuclear weapons production facility in the southeastern United States. These studies of EHL are then related to the development of MNA programs for non-radioactive contaminants in these same or similar habitats. Of particular importance is the finding that EHL's can vary between habitat types for the same contaminant. Even within the same habitat, EHL's can vary spatially across microhabitats as well as between ecosystem components (e.g. in plants vs. animals) or even between species within a single trophic level/taxonomic group.

Cleanup Worker Exposures to Hazardous Chemicals at a Former Nuclear Weapons Plant: Piloting of an Exposure Surveillance System

Cleanup of former U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear weapons production facilities involves potential exposures to various hazardous chemicals. We have collaboratively developed and piloted an exposure database and surveillance system for cleanup worker hazardous chemical exposure data with a cleanup contractor at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS). A unique system feature is the incorporation of a 34-category work task-coding scheme. This report presents an overview of the data captured by this system during development and piloting from March 1995 through August 1998. All air samples collected were entered into the system. Of the 859 breathing zone samples collected, 103 unique employees and 39 unique compounds were represented. Breathing zone exposure levels were usually low (86% of breathing zone samples were below analytical limits of detection). The use of respirators and other exposure controls was high (87 and 88%, respectively). Occasional high-level excursions did occur. Detailed quantitative summaries are provided for the six most monitored compounds: asbestos, beryllium, carbon tetrachloride, chromium, lead, and methylene chloride. Task and job title data were successfully collected for most samples, and showed specific cleanup activities by pipe fitters to be the most commonly represented in the database. Importantly, these results demonstrate the feasibility of the implementation of integrated exposure database and surveillance systems by practicing industrial hygienists employed in industry as well as the preventive potential and research uses of such systems. This exposure database and surveillance system?the central features of which are applicable in any industrial work setting?has enabled one of the first systematic quantitative characterizations of DOE cleanup worker exposures to hazardous chemicals.

Development of an exposure database and surveillance system for use by practicing OSH professionals.

This report summarizes the development of an occupational exposure database and surveillance system for use by health and safety professionals at Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS), a former nuclear weapons production facility. The site itself is currently in the cleanup stage with work expected to continue into 2006. The system was developed with the intent of helping health and safety personnel not only to manage and analyze exposure monitoring data, but also to identify exposure determinants during the highly variable cleanup work. Utilizing a series of focused meetings with health and safety personnel from two of the major contractors at RFETS, core data elements were established. These data elements were selected based on their utility for analysis and identification of exposure determinants. A task-based coding scheme was employed to better define the highly variable work. The coding scheme consisted of a two-tiered hierarchical list with a total of 34 possible combinations of work type and task. The data elements were incorporated into a Microsoft Access database with built-in data entry features to both promote consistency and limit entry choices to enable stratified analyses. In designing the system, emphasis was placed on the ability of end users to perform complex analyses and multiparameter queries to identify trends in their exposure data. A very flexible and user-friendly report generator was built into the system. This report generator allowed users to perform multiparameter queries using an intuitive system with very little training. In addition, a number of automated graphical analyses were built into the system, including exposure levels by any combination of building, date, employee, job classification, type of contaminant, work type or task, exposure levels over time, exposure levels relative to the permissible exposure limit (PELS), and distributions of exposure levels. Both of these interfaces, allow the user to "drill down" or gradually narrow query criteria to identify specific exposure determinants. A number of other industrial hygiene processes were automated by the use of this database. Exposure calculations were coded into the system to allow automatic calculation of time-weighted averages and sample volumes. In addition, a table containing all the PELs and other relevant occupational exposure limits was built into the system to allow automatic comparisons with the current standards. Finally, the process of generating reports for employee notification was automated. The implementation of this system demonstrates that an integrated database system can save time for a practicing hygienist as well as provide useful and more importantly, timely information to guide primary prevention efforts.

Cleanup worker exposures to hazardous chemicals at a former nuclear weapons plant: piloting of an exposure surveillance system.

Cleanup of former U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear weapons production facilities involves potential exposures to various hazardous chemicals. We have collaboratively developed and piloted an exposure database and surveillance system for cleanup worker hazardous chemical exposure data with a cleanup contractor at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS). A unique system feature is the incorporation of a 34-category work task-coding scheme. This report presents an overview of the data captured by this system during development and piloting from March 1995 through August 1998. All air samples collected were entered into the system. Of the 859 breathing zone samples collected, 103 unique employees and 39 unique compounds were represented. Breathing zone exposure levels were usually low (86% of breathing zone samples were below analytical limits of detection). The use of respirators and other exposure controls was high (87 and 88%, respectively). Occasional high-level excursions did occur. Detailed quantitative summaries are provided for the six most monitored compounds: asbestos, beryllium, carbon tetrachloride, chromium, lead, and methylene chloride. Task and job title data were successfully collected for most samples, and showed specific cleanup activities by pipe fitters to be the most commonly represented in the database. Importantly, these results demonstrate the feasibility of the implementation of integrated exposure database and surveillance systems by practicing industrial hygienists employed in industry as well as the preventive potential and research uses of such systems. This exposure database and surveillance system--the central features of which are applicable in any industrial work setting--has enabled one of the first systematic quantitative characterizations of DOE cleanup worker exposures to hazardous chemicals.

Conversion of Russian chemical weapons production facilities: Conflicts with the CWC

(2000). Conversion of Russian chemical weapons production facilities: Conflicts with the CWC. The Nonproliferation Review: Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 44-62.

The New Chemical Weapons Convention: Implementation and Prospects. Edited by Michael Bothe, Natalino Ronzitti, and Allan Rosas. The Hague, London, Boston: Kluwer Law International, 1998. Pp. xv, 604. Index. Fl 350, $189, £119.

The New Chemical Weapons Convention: Implementation and Prospects. Edited by Michael Bothe, Natalino Ronzitti, and Allan Rosas. The Hague, London, Boston: Kluwer Law International, 1998. Pp. xv, 604. Index. Fl 350, $189, £119. - Volume 94 Issue 1

Sites in the United States contaminated with radioactivity.

Over the century that radioactive materials have been mined, processed, produced, and utilized, many sites across the United States have become contaminated. Such sites include bases and installations of the Department of Defense, weapons production and research facilities of the Department of Energy, properties under the authority of other Federal agencies, privately-owned and governmental facilities that are licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and its Agreement States, and sites licensed by or the responsibility of states. This review reports on aspects of work by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and others to identify sites contaminated with radioactive materials. It also describes the principal programs that have been instituted to deal with them.

Medical Monitoring at a Large Former Nuclear Weapons Production Facility: Use of a Computer-based Hazard Assessment Tool and Application of Lymphocyte Proliferation Test for Beryllium

Medical Monitoring at a Large Former Nuclear Weapons Production Facility: Use of a Computer-based Hazard Assessment Tool and Application of Lymphocyte Proliferation Test for Beryllium

A Risk Assessment for Consumers of Mourning Doves

Recreational and subsistence hunters and anglers consume a wide range of species, including birds, mammals, fish and shellfish, some of which represent significant exposure pathways for environmental toxic agents. This study focuses on the Department of Energy's (DOE'S) Savannah River Site (SRS), a former nuclear weapons production facility in South Carolina. The potential risk of contaminant intake from consuming mourning doves (Zenaida macroura), the most popular United States game bird, was examined under various risk scenarios. For all of these scenarios we used the mean tissue concentration of six metals (lead, mercury, cadmium, selenium, chromium, manganese) and radiocesium, in doves collected on and near SRS. We also estimated risk to a child consuming doves that had the maximum contaminant level. We used the cancer slope factor for radiocesium, the Environmental Protection Agencies UptakeBiokinetic model for lead, and published reference doses for the other metals. As a result of our risk assessments we recommend management of water levels in contaminated reservoirs so that lake bed sediments are not exposed to use by gamebirds and other terrestrial wildlife. Particularly, measures should be taken to insure that the hunting public does not have access to such a site. Our data also indicate that doves on popular hunting areas are exposed to excess lead, suggesting that banning lead shot for doves, as has been done for waterfowl, is desirable.

A risk assessment for consumers of mourning doves.

Recreational and subsistence hunters and anglers consume a wide range of species, including birds, mammals, fish and shellfish, some of which represent significant exposure pathways for environmental toxic agents. This study focuses on the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Savannah River Site (SRS), a former nuclear weapons production facility in South Carolina. The potential risk of contaminant intake from consuming mourning doves (Zenaida macroura), the most popular United States game bird, was examined under various risk scenarios. For all of these scenarios we used the mean tissue concentration of six metals (lead, mercury, cadmium, selenium, chromium, manganese) and radiocesium, in doves collected on and near SRS. We also estimated risk to a child consuming doves that had the maximum contaminant level. We used the cancer slope factor for radiocesium, the Environmental Protection Agencies Uptake/Biokinetic model for lead, and published reference doses for the other metals. As a result of our risk assessments we recommend management of water levels in contaminated reservoirs so that lake bed sediments are not exposed to use by gamebirds and other terrestrial wildlife. Particularly, measures should be taken to insure that the hunting public does not have access to such a site. Our data also indicate that doves on popular hunting areas are exposed to excess lead, suggesting that banning lead shot for doves, as has been done for waterfowl, is desirable.