Re: tritiated water uptake

[LIPTONW@detroitedison.com]

This sounds like a deliberate contamination event.  There seems to be an 
epidemic of these, so it's important that the health physics community be 
prepared to respond.  Two significant events occurred in 1995 - at the 
National Institutes of Health (Here, a pregnant radiation worker incurred a 
fetal dose that was estimated to be as high as 8.1 rems.), and at the 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (There was a lot about this on RADSAFE.) 
 In reviewing these, it seems that it is not in our mindset to expect a 
deliberate contamination.  We seem to respond with the assumption that the 
incident was caused by inadvertent errors.  Since the possibility of a 
deliberate contamination places a double burden on the victim (i.e., his fear 
of radiation is compounded by the thought that someone is out to get him), his 
frustration can sometimes result in an adversarial relationship with the 
health physicists who become involved.  I recommend the following references: 
 
1.  The October 19, 1995 issue of "Nature" contains articles about the NIH and 
MIT events. 
 
2.  NRC Information Notice 95-51, "Recent Incidents Involving Potential Loss 
of Control of Licensed Material" 
 
3.  NUREG-1535 - "Ingestion of Phosphorus-32 at Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology..." 
 
Another potential complication is gender differences, since there are now more 
and more female radiation workers.  I reviewed reports of an incident at a 
nuclear power plant where someone placed a source in the pocket of a female's 
clothing, while she was dressed out in protective clothing.  She exited the 
controlled area at a remote control point, with only a male health physics 
technician present.  When she alarmed the contamination monitor, he was 
reluctant to have her undress, and sent her to the main control point.  This 
resulted in a significant delay in finding the source, and increased her dose. 
 
The opinions expressed are strictly mine. 
Here's to a risk free world, and other fantasies. 
 
Bill Lipton 
liptonw@detroitedison.com

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• To: Multiple,recipients,of,list,radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
• Subject: tritiated water uptake
• From: "radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu" <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
• Date: 07 Oct 97 07:13:30
• Reply-to: radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu

Dear Radsafe,
            The October issue of Health Physics carries an article
analyzing the fate of body tritium after 8 radiation workers had an
'unplanned acute tritiated water intake' in a Canadian nuclear plant in
1990. The 1990 reference reporting the incident was published only in
abstract form in Health Physics just after the incident. The exposed
workers 4h post exposure showed 10^8 Bq/L in their urine and the
contamination originated apparently from a juice dispenser. Whereas the
article was useful it left me curious has to how a juice dispenser could
have got so contaminated. Does any-one out there know of the results of a
follow up of the origins of such a significant contamination? I would be
very interested to know. Thankyou.

                                               David Hornsey 

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