Occupational health and environment research 1983: Health, Safety, and Environment Division. Progress report

The primary responsibility of the Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Division at the Los Alamos National Laboratory is to provide comprehensive occupational health and safety programs, waste processing, and environmental protection. These activities are designed to protect the workers, the public, and the environment. Evaluation of respiratory protective equipment included the XM-30 and M17A1 military masks, use of MAG-1 spectacles in respirators, and eight self-contained units. The latter units were used in an evaluation of test procedures used for Bureau of Mines approval of breathing apparatuses. Analyses of air samples from field studies of a modified in situ oil shale retorting facility were performed for total cyclohexane extractables and selected polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. Aerosols generation and characterization of effluents from oil shale processing were continued as part of an inhalation toxicology study. Additional data on plutonium excretion in urine are presented and point up problems in using the Langham equation to predict plutonium deposition in the body from long-term excretion data. Environmental surveillance at Los Alamos during 1983 showed the highest estimated radiation dose from Laboratory operations to be about 26% of the natural background radiation dose. Several studies on radionuclides and their transport in the Los Alamos environment are described. The chemical quality of surface and ground water near the geothermal hot dry rock facility is described. Short- and long-term consequences to man from releases of radionuclides into the environment can be simulated by the BIOTRAN computer model, which is discussed brirfly