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USTUR 0050: Rocky Flats — Inhalation — 239Pu — Minimal Intake — Not Chelated
Intake
This registrant worked at the Rocky Flats Plant for about 12 y. He was involved in three recorded incidents:
1963: The Registrant lacerated his finger on the edge of the duct frame while walking past an air sampling system. The plutonium air concentration in the area was 2.25 dpm/m3 for a sample volume of 26.3 m3. The wound was monitored negative by Health Physics.
1964: The Registrant was contaminated to 1,000 cpm around the nose and mouth, 1,500 cpm behind the right ear, and 1,000 cpm near an old wound on his neck. The old wound reopened during decontamination, but a wound count found no contamination above background and a plutonium in urine sample dated three days after the incident is <MDA.
1965: The Registrant received two metal splinters in his finger while picking up a ruler. These were monitored negative by Health Physics.
Health Physics
While employed at Rocky Flats, this Registrant provided 22 urine samples that were analyzed for gross alpha, uranium, 239Pu, and 241Am. All plutonium results except for one (0.32 dpm/24 hr in 1966) are less than MDA/2 (0.27 dpm/24 hr). The highest uranium measurement is 13 dpm/24 hr, the contemporary MDA.
Three chest, one wound, and two liver counts were performed on this Registrant. All results were at background.
The Registrant’s total external (penetrating) radiation dose was 7 rem.
Autopsy and Pathology
The Registrant died at age 38 y from an acute myocardial infarction.
Portions of the right and left lung, thoracic lymph nodes, liver, kidney, spleen, larynx & thyroid, trachea, brain, fat, sternum, rib and vertebrae were taken at autopsy.
To use USTUR narrative data, please cite:
USTUR 0050: Rocky Flats — Inhalation — 239Pu — Minimal Intake — Not Chelated: Narrative. United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries. 12 August 2009. Washington State University: College of Pharmacy. Accessed 23 November 2009. Available at: http://www.ustur.wsu.edu/Case_Studies/Narratives/0050_Narrative.php.
This page was last updated on August 12, 2009. usturwebmaster@tricity.wsu.edu