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USTUR 0720: Rocky Flats — 1965 Acute Inhalation (Fire) — Refractory 239Pu — with Prior Ingestion (Unknown Form)
Intake
This registrant worked at the Rocky Flats Plant for 28 y. He was involved an extensive plutonium fire incident in 1965 and a total of 28 documented wound, contamination, and possible inhalation events. Several of the most significant events are summarized.
1961: The Registrant contaminated the inside of his mouth to a count rate of 20,000 cpm and his face and chest to 10,000 cpm while working in the down draft room. The inside of his respirator was contaminated up to 7,000 cpm. The Registrant was decontaminated, and special urine and fecal samples were requested. The average plutonium-in-air contamination in the Registrant’s work area was 6,036 dpm/m3 (101 Bq/m3) based upon a sample volume of 13.6 m3.
1961: Contamination spread into the Registrant’s work area during down draft operations at an alcohol wash box. The Registrant’s skin was contaminated to a count rate of 20,000 cpm around his mouth, 15,000 cpm inside his mouth, and 7,000 cpm on his face and neck. Five hundred square feet of floor were contaminated to greater than 100,000 cpm. Plutonium-in-urine samples collected during the following week dropped from 85.3 to 3.62 dpm/24-h. The average plutonium-in-air contamination in the Registrant’s work area was 6,119 dpm/m3 (102 Bq/m3) based upon a sample volume of 16.7 m3.
1962: Contamination spread into the Registrant’s work area during routine operations. The Registrant’s entire body was contaminated with a count rate from 1,000 cpm to greater than 100,000 cpm. The average plutonium-in-air contamination in the Registrant’s work area was 19,000 dpm/m3 (317 Bq/m3) based upon a sample volume of 26.3 m3.
1963: The Registrant punctured his right second finger while decontaminating a pipe. The wound was counted and no contamination above background was detected.
1963: The Registrant contaminated the right side of his face and the inside of his mouth, with a measured α-count rate of 25,000 cpm. The average plutonium-in-air contamination in the Registrant’s work area was 9.81 dpm/m3 (0.16 Bq/m3) based upon a sample volume of 52.6 m3.
1963: The Registrant cut his right fifth finger while working in a super dry room. No surface contamination was noted. The average plutonium-in-air contamination in the Registrant’s work area was 937 dpm/m3 (15.6 Bq/m3) based upon a sample volume of 315.8 m3.
1965: The Registrant lacerated his right hand on a piece of hardened paint while peeling masking tape off of a roll. The wound was monitored and no contamination detected.
1965: The Registrant was involved in an extensive plutonium fire incident. Studies of the plutonium fire aerosol showed that the material was highly refractory, and thus retained in the lungs and not responsive to intravenous chelation treatment. Surface contamination indicated small particle sizes: 0.12 µm count median diameter (0.4 µm CMAD) and 0.32 µm mass median diameter (1.0 µm AMAD). The average plutonium-in-air contamination in the Registrant’s work area was approximately 9,000 dpm/m3 (150 Bq/m3) based on an 8-hour sampling period.
Health Physics
While employed at Rocky Flats, this worker submitted about 250 urine samples that were analyzed for gross alpha, uranium, plutonium, and/or 241Am. The plutonium results range from background to 85.3 dpm/24-h.
Fecal samples were requested following both 1961 incidents, but USTUR does not have the results of the analyses.
Sixty-one chest, nine liver, and eight gut counts were carried out between 1965 and 1984. The current interpretation of the chest count data gives an estimated 239Pu activity decreasing from 127 nCi in 1965 to 3.2 nCi in 1984. This 239Pu activity was calculated from the original 241Am 59 keV count rate (cpm) using OCAST-TKBS-0011-5 Rev 02 “Rocky Flats Plant – Occupation Internal Dose” methodologies.
A special follow-up urinalysis and lung count were conducted in 2003. The urine sample contained 0.22 ± 0.034 dpm 239Pu, which corresponds to an excretion rate of 0.18 ± 0.027 dpm/24-h (0.08 ± 0.012 pCi/24-h). The lung count detected a lung burden of 4.79 nCi.
Seventeen wound counts were performed from 1957 to 1965. All results were at background.
The Registrant’s total external (penetrating) radiation dose was 23.2 rem.
Autopsy and Pathology
The Registrant died at age 83 y from lung cancer and bronchopneumonia.
Tissue Analysis
All tissue samples taken at autopsy were analyzed for 239+240Pu and 241Am.
239+240Pu Tissue Analyses of Major Body Organs |
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| Organ or Tissue | Sample mass, g | Organ Content, Bq |
| Lungs | 1031 | 153.4 |
| LNTH | 20.1 | 58.2 |
| Liver | 1,156 | 75.3 |
| Skeleton | 11,902 | 101.6 |
Contemporary Dose Estimates
The last plutonium body burden estimates made by Rocky Flats Plant personnel are as follows:
| % of Maximum Permissible Burden |
Maximum Permissible Burden |
Calculated Estimate of Burden |
|
| Systemic Burden | 54.4% | 40 nCi | 21.8 nCi (807 Bq) |
| Lung Burden | 26% | 16 nCi | 4.13 nCi (153 Bq) |
To use USTUR narrative data, please cite:
USTUR 0720: Rocky Flats — 1965 Acute Inhalation (Fire) — Refractory 239Pu — with Prior Ingestion (Unknown Form): Narrative. United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries. 5 November 2009. Washington State University: College of Pharmacy. Accessed 23 November 2009. Available at: http://www.ustur.wsu.edu/Case_Studies/Narratives/0720_Narrative.php.
This page was last updated on November 5, 2009. usturwebmaster@tricity.wsu.edu