AAAR 37th Annual Conference October 14 - October 18, 2019 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
A Historical Perspective on Evaluation of Health Hazards of Airborne Plutonium
ROGER MCCLELLAN, Private Consultant
Abstract Number: 545 Working Group: From Aerosol Dosimetry and Toxicology to Health
Abstract Seaborg in 1940 used the University of California-Berkeley (UC-B) cyclotron to discover a new element – Plutonium (Pu). It was soon recognized that 239Pu could be used to build a nuclear fission bomb. This led to the Manhattan Project and production of 239Pu in uranium-fueled reactors. Seaborg was aware exposure to alpha particle emissions from naturally occurring radionuclides caused lung cancer in Uranium miners and bone cancer in Radium dial painters. Thus, he recognized exposure to 239Pu could pose a serious health hazard leading him to provide aliquots of the first weighable quantities of 239Pu to UC-B colleagues to investigate fate and toxicity of 239Pu in laboratory animals. Results of these studies in combination with data from the radium dial painters were used in 1944 to set radiation protection standards for Pu workers. After World War II, research programs on the toxicity of Pu were initiated at the University of Utah, the Hanford Laboratories and the Lovelace Inhalation Toxicology Research Institute. These programs initially focused on 239Pu and later expanded to include 238Pu used as a thermal source in Space Nuclear Auxiliary Power systems. In 1967, a Registry of Pu workers in the USA was initiated. The multi-faceted research conducted over the past 75 years has made substantial contributions to understanding health hazards of Pu. Moreover, this research has contributed to understanding the mechanisms of toxicity of all kinds of airborne materials. The Radiation Protection Standards and work practices introduced in 1944 proved effective in protecting USA workers. Unfortunately, in Russian poor hygienic conditions led to an increased incidence of cancers in lung, liver and skeleton of Pu works validating the results observed in laboratory animals. This remarkable experience with Pu provides valuable lessons for addressing the potential human health hazards of other man-made agents.