[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Harold McCluskey & Hanford Accident



The accident referred to occurred on August 30, 1976 at the Hanford 242-Z 
americium recovery facility.  The accident was a chemical explosion (NOT a 
nuclear criticality) of a cation exchange column loaded with Am-241.  The 
explosion blew out the windows of the glovebox in which it was located.  Mr. 
McCluskey was a chemical operator working through the glove ports at the time of
the explosion.  His face was peppered with Am-241 contaminated glass and metal 
fragments, as well as nitric acid.  The nitric acid is what caused the vision 
problems.  He was extensively chelated with DTPA for about 5 years following the
accident.  His death at age 75 (in 1987) resulted from cardiorespiratory 
failure.

The best scientific summaries of his case can be found in the open literature - 
see the October 1983 issue of Health Physics, which was dedicated (both 
literally and by entire content) to him.  The most recent publications of post 
mortem results and dosimetry can be found in several papers in the September 
1995 issue of Health Physics.  In that issue, he is not identified by name, but 
the references make his identity obvious.  Dick Toohey and Ron Kathren reported 
the following dose estimates in a summary paper in that issue:

                Bone:   18 Gy
        Bone surface:   520 Gy
                Liver:   8 Gy
                Lung:   1.6 Gy

There was no identified carcinogenesis in the post mortem analyses.

A couple of popular literature references by McCluskey himself can be found in 
the following:

        Readers' Digest, April 1981, pp 110-114
        Guideposts, October 1981, pp 14-19

Mac was an ardent supporter of nuclear power and technology up to his death.  He
bore no ill will to the industry and eagerly supported the many studies on him 
in the interest of helping anyone to whom such unfortunate circumstances might 
occur.  Those of us who were privileged to know him, knew him to be a true 
gentleman.

Gene CArbaugh
eh_carbaugh@pnl.gov