H3 Exit signs -Reply

[Gerald Nicholls <GNICHOLL@dep.state.nj.us>]

Based on our experiences in New Jersey, it is unlikely that significant
contamination would exist at an airplane crash site.  The H3 is simply too
easily dispersed as it is largely in gaseous form.  The two incidents I
mentioned took place inside buildings and were not immediately
ventilated, hence the contamination.  We also had an incident involving a
broken sign found along a major highway.  No significant contamination
resulted from that incident.  All of our incidents involved signs that
contained  about 20 Ci each nominally when manufactured but were less
than that when broken due to decay.

Gerald Nicholls
609-633-7964
NJDEP
gnicholl@dep.state.nj.us

>>> "Cook, Lew (LCOO)" <LCOO@chevron.com> 08/10/00 03:40pm >>>
Gerald Nicholls (Radsafe digest 3347) reported that 2 incidents involving
smashed H3 building exit signs cost >$50K each to clean up. 

Commercial aircraft contain several of these H3 signs. I don't recall any
attention being paid to the cleanup of H3 at crash sites, but it may be
something the press is not reporting (is that possible?). I presume that
these will occasionally be destroyed in the more violent accidents with a
subsequent release of H3. Has anyone out there participated in
monitoring,
removal or evaluation of H3 from destroyed exit signs at these wreck
sites?
Have exposures to emergency workers ever been
detected/documented?

Is this something with the potential to cause someone a significant
exposure
(the signs contain several Curies of H3 - or at least they did years ago)
or
is this a non-problem?

Lew
510 242-7040
lcoo@chevron.com

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