United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries. Annual Report, October 1, 1993--September 30, 1994

This report summarizes the salient activities and progress of the United States Transuranium. and Uranium Registries for the period October 1, 1993 through September 30, 1994, along with details of specific programs areas including the National Human Radiobiology Tissue Repository (NHRTR) and tissue radiochemistry analysis project. Responsibility for tissue radioanalysis was transferred from Los Alamos National Laboratory to Washington State University in February 1994. The University of Washington was selected as the Quality Assurance/Quality Control laboratory and a three way intercomparison with them and LANL has been initiated. The results of the initial alpha spectrometry intercomparison showed excellent agreement among the laboratories and are documented in full in the Appendices to the report. The NHRTR serves as the initial point of receipt for samples received from participants in the USTUR program. Samples are weighed, divided, and reweighed, and a portion retained by the NHRTR as backup or for use in other studies. Tissue specimens retained in the NHRTR are maintained frozen at -70 C and include not only those from USTUR registrants but also those from the radium dial painter and thorium worker studies formerly conducted by Argonne National Laboratory. In addition, there are fixed tissues and a large collection of histopathology slides from all the studies, plus about 20,000 individual solutions derived from donated tissues. These tissues and tissue related materials are made available to other investigators for legitimate research purposes. Ratios of the concentration of actinides in various tissues have been used to evaluate the biokinetics, and retention half times of plutonium and americium. Retention half times for plutonium in various soft tissues range from 10-20 y except for the testes for which a retention half time of 58 y was observed. For americium, the retention half time in various soft tissues studied was 2.2-3.5 y

United States transuranium and uranium registries. Annual report, October 1, 1995--September 30, 1996

This Annual Report covers the period October 1, 1995 through September 30, 1996, and includes both scientific and administrative activities. As of September 30, 1996, the Registries had a total of 886 registrants of whom 350 were deceased and 292 classified as active. An anticipated funding cut of approximately 35% for the period beginning October 1, 1996, necessitated some staff cuts, but it is anticipated that the Registries core research will be maintained albeit at a somewhat slower pace. The Registries received approximately 60 public information requests or inquiries ranging over a wide range of topics, about a third of which came from the media or official agencies, including Congress. Specific noteworthy inquiries were received from the President`s Advisory Committee on the Gulf War Veterans with regard to uranium biokinetics and toxicity, and from the County of Los Angeles and the State of California with regard to the management and dosimetry of two separate instances of acute accidental intakes of {sup 241}Am

Comparison of premortem and postmortem estimates of plutonium deposited in the skeleton and liver of six individuals

Assessment of organ burdens after internal exposures to radionuclides is often necessary to evaluate the health and regulatory implications of the exposure. The assessment of plutonium activity in skeleton and liver is usually estimated from measurements of plutonium excreted via urine. As part of the overall evaluation of internal dose assessment techniques, it is useful to compare the results of organ burden estimates made from evaluation of urinary excretion data with those made at death from tissue samples collected posthumously from the individual. Estimates of plutonium in the skeleton and liver, based on postmortem analysis of tissue samples for six individuals, were obtained from the US Transuranium Registry (USTR). Bioassay data and other radiation exposure information obtained from the individuals' files were used to estimate their skeleton and liver burdens at the times of their deaths, and these estimates were compared to those obtained through tissue analysis. 6 refs., 2 tabs

Partitioning of /sup 238/Pu, /sup 239/Pu, and /sup 241/Am in skeleton and liver of United States transuranium registry autopsy cases

The distribution and concentration of the transuranic elements in humans was studied through analysis of tissues collected from occupationally exposed persons at autopsy. This report describes the results of the evaluation of data from registrants with measurable concentrations of plutonium and americium who had contributed bone and liver specimens to the United States Transuranium Registry. (ACR

Guide to reducing radiation exposure to as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA)

This document is designed to provide DOE contractor personnel with general guidance regarding programs and techniques to reduce radiation exposures to as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). Thus it is directed towards a broad audience, and should have special relevance and interest for operating management as well as radiation protection personnel. It is well recognized that each contractor has needs specific and critical to its radiation protection program. Hence no single set of specific and detailed criteria can be set down as a prescription for achieving the ALARA goal. Rather, general guidance in the form of broad principles is given in order to acquaint management with ALARA needs and concepts. The purpose is to encourage maximum management support of the technical personnel responsible for carrying out day-to-day radiation protection activities. Although primarily written for management, this document also contains technical guidance of potential value to those directly involved in radiation protection activities. Again it should be stressed that what is provided is guidance, and is therefore not mandatory

Traceability of radiation measurements: musings of a user

Although users of radiation desire measurement traceability for a number of reasons, including legal, regulatory, contractual, and quality assurance requirements, there exists no real definition of the term in the technical literature. Definitions are proposed for both traceability and traceability to the National Bureau of Standards. The hierarchy of radiation standards is discussed and allowable uncertainties are given for each level. Areas of need with respect to radiation standards are identified, and a system of secondary radiation calibration laboratories is proposed as a means of providing quality calibrations and traceability on a routine basis

United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries. Annual Report, October 1, 1993--September 30, 1994

This report summarizes the salient activities and progress of the United States Transuranium. and Uranium Registries for the period October 1, 1993 through September 30, 1994, along with details of specific programs areas including the National Human Radiobiology Tissue Repository (NHRTR) and tissue radiochemistry analysis project. Responsibility for tissue radioanalysis was transferred from Los Alamos National Laboratory to Washington State University in February 1994. The University of Washington was selected as the Quality Assurance/Quality Control laboratory and a three way intercomparison with them and LANL has been initiated. The results of the initial alpha spectrometry intercomparison showed excellent agreement among the laboratories and are documented in full in the Appendices to the report. The NHRTR serves as the initial point of receipt for samples received from participants in the USTUR program. Samples are weighed, divided, and reweighed, and a portion retained by the NHRTR as backup or for use in other studies. Tissue specimens retained in the NHRTR are maintained frozen at -70 C and include not only those from USTUR registrants but also those from the radium dial painter and thorium worker studies formerly conducted by Argonne National Laboratory. In addition, there are fixed tissues and a large collection of histopathology slides from all the studies, plus about 20,000 individual solutions derived from donated tissues. These tissues and tissue related materials are made available to other investigators for legitimate research purposes. Ratios of the concentration of actinides in various tissues have been used to evaluate the biokinetics, and retention half times of plutonium and americium. Retention half times for plutonium in various soft tissues range from 10-20 y except for the testes for which a retention half time of 58 y was observed. For americium, the retention half time in various soft tissues studied was 2.2-3.5 y