Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Bliss & Laughlin Steel

Special Exposure Cohort Petition

SEC-00230

James W. Neton, PhD, CHP

Associate Director for Science

NIOSH Division of Compensation Analysis and Support

Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health Teleconference Meeting

October 4, 2016
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Background

 129,000 ft2 building, 110 Hopkins Street, Lackawanna, NY

 Machined Uranium rods for Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), 

1951-52

 All work in 3,230 ft2 Special Finishing Area

• Residual contamination found when surveyed in 1992

• All other building locations found to be uncontaminated

 Added to Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program 

(FUSRAP)

 Surveyed again in 1995 by FUSRAP, remediated from 

December 1998-March 1999
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Background – continued

 First Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) petition evaluated 

2009

• Operational Period (1951-52) and residual period (1953-98)

• Evaluated “all workers for all of operational and residual periods”

• Finding – NIOSH could estimate radiation doses with sufficient accuracy 

for the evaluated class of workers

• Board recommended not to add classes, Secretary of Department of 

Health and Human Services agreed, denied class on June 3, 2011

• Research showed remediation continued into 1999

 Residual Period redefined,1953-99

For information about first SEC petion SEC00131 visit: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas/blsteel.html
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Evaluation of Petition

 Petition SEC-00230 received on March 1, 2016 for a class of: 

All employees of the Bliss & Laughlin Steel Company located at 110 Hopkins 

Street, Buffalo, New York, during the period from January 1, 1951 through 

January 31, 1999.

 Class evaluated was:

All atomic weapons employees who worked in any area at the Bliss & Laughlin 

Steel site in Buffalo, New York, during the period from January 1, 1999 through 

December 31, 1999.

 Allowed for evaluation of 1999, the period added to the site’s 

residual period after the evaluation of SEC-00131. 
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Bliss & Laughlin Claims as of June, 2016

Description Totals

- Number of claims submitted for dose reconstruction 54

- Total number of submitted for energy employees who worked during the period under 

evaluation (January 1, 1999 through December 31, 1999) 10

- Number of dose reconstructions completed for energy employees who worked during the 

period under evaluation (i.e., the number of such claims completed by NIOSH and submitted 

to the Department of Labor for final approval).

9

- Number of claims for which internal dosimetry records were obtained for the identified years 

in the evaluated class definition 0

- Number of claims for which external dosimetry records were obtained for the identified years 

in the evaluated class definition 0
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

FUSRAP Remediation

 Performed by US Army Corps of Engineers contractor 

personnel only

 Scheduled on weekends 

 Started December 19, 1998 and completed March 17, 1999

 Remediated Special Finishing Area

 Air Monitoring 

• Conducted prior to, during, and after work activities

• Samplers adjacent to Special Finishing Area to monitor plant worker 

exposures

• FUSRAP Closure Report stated “No exposures” for plant workers
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Remediation Activities, 1998

 Overhead Steel Trusses

• Weekend of December 18-19, 1998

• Nearby plant equipment was covered

• Trusses were HEPA vacuumed and wiped with masslinn

cloth

• Confirmation survey on March 14, 1999 
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Remediation Activities, 1999

 Floor of Special Finishing Area

• Weekend of January 9 to 10, 1999

• Work performed inside enclosure with HEPA filtration

• Scabbling along with a HEPA Vacuum to remove dust and debris

• Resurveyed in March 1999, additional scabbling for areas adjacent to trench

 Trench in Floor

• Began January 2, 1999, completed March 13, 1999

• Work performed inside enclosure with HEPA filtration

• Scabbled and jackhammered along with HEPA Vacuum for dust and debris

• Confirmation surveys in March 1999, filled with concrete April 1999

 Approximately 60 cu. yd. “presumed contaminated material” 

shipped offsite for burial
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Feasibility Determination

 Based on the information provided

• Covered Employees were not present for the remediation 

activities

• Operations were conducted in hoods with HEPA filtration

• Air sampling was performed on boundaries with no elevated 

readings

 NIOSH concludes exposures for this period would not 

be any higher than the previous evaluated 1990 period

 Dose reconstruction is feasible
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Bounding Methods in Bliss & Laughlin TBD

Site Profiles for Atomic Weapons Employers that Worked 

Uranium Metals, Appendix D, Bliss and Laughlin Steel, BattelleTBD-6000, Appendix D; Rev. 0

 1953 through 1990 inhalation exposures

• Based on estimated work contamination in 1953 and highest removable alpha 

activity found in 1992 survey, 430 dpm/100 cm2

• Derived contamination depletion factor of 1.88E-4 per day

 1990 through 1998 inhalation exposures

• No further reduction in contamination assumed after 1990; same 

estimates applied for each year
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

 Extend TBD methods for 1998 through 1999

 Assumes

• Entire area at 430 dpm/100 cm2 removable alpha cont.

• 1E-6 resuspension factor

• 8.0 hour workday

 2.88E-1 dpm/day inhalation; (Table D.1, Battelle-TBD6000, Appendix D)

 1.1 dpm per day ingestion based on initial air 

concentration and source-term depletion rate

Bounding Methods 1999, Internal Exposures
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Bounding Methods 1999, External Exposures

 Beta/gamma survey in 1995 of entire “special finishing area”

• 733 measurements using a “5 point method”

• 50th percentile of 489 dpm/100 cm2

• 95th percentile of 1731 dpm/100 cm2

• Ten hot spots detected – highest was 280,000 dpm/100 cm2

 Beta exposure 

• Dose conversion factor of 3.82E-08 mrad/hour per dpm of alpha/m2

(Batelle-TBD-6000)

• 3.7 mrad/year at the 50th percentile

• 13.2 mrad/year at the 95th percentile

 Photon Exposure

• 0.04 mrem/year at the 50th percentile

• 0.14 mrem/year at the 95th percentile
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Summary

Feasibility Findings for SEC-00230 – Bliss and Laughlin Steel 

Lackawanna, New York

(January 1, 1999 through December 31, 1999.)

Exposure Source Reconstruction

Feasible

Reconstruction Not

Feasible

Internal - Uranium X

External X

Gamma X

Beta X

Neutron N/A

Occup. Medical X-rays X