Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Argonne National Laboratory – East 

Lara Hughes, PhD, CHP

Division of Compensation Analysis and Support

Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health

Naperville, Illinois | March 22, 2017
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

• Established July 1, 1946

• Operated by University of Chicago

• Continuation of operations from the Metallurgical Laboratory (Met Lab)

• Met Lab operations moved to Site A 

• Site A operated 1943-1954

• Operations transitioned to Site D starting in 1948

• Site D operations on-going

Background
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Site A (1943-1954)

Plot M (1944-1948) ANL-E (Site D): 

1948-present

Location
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

• Production, power and research reactors 

• Various accelerator facilities

• Associated R&D and support operations

• Fuel development and separations research

• Waste management operations

• Biological research on animals and humans

• Health physics and medical department

Site Operations
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

• 6 Technical Basis Documents issued 2006, External TBD updated 2014

• SC&A TBD review issued May 2009

• 13 Findings and 7 Secondary Findings

• SC&A TBD review update May 2016

• Board WG established in August 2016

• First WG meeting March 10, 2017

• 10 NIOSH action items remain

NIOSH ANL-E Timeline
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

NIOSH ANL-E Statistics

• Number of claims in NOCTS: 412 (107 > 50 %)

• No current SEC petition 

• SEC-00212 did not qualify for evaluation in 2013

• Number of documents in SRDB: 4276 

• Over 50 % of those collected since TBDs were first released

• Additional data capture likely
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Open Internal Dosimetry Issues

• Addressing various U and Pu mixture compositions

• DR recommendation on exotics/accelerator produced radionuclides

• Approach for early gross alpha analysis 

• MDCs and uncertainties in bioassay methodology

• Guidance for missed dose assignment, 

• Dose assignment for unmonitored workers, potential need for 

coworker model

• Internal dose from Radon
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

• TBD update with current recommendation based on OTIB006

• Investigate end data of potential PFG use

Open medical dosimetry issues
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

• Add information on available external dosimetry used and 

details on updated external dosimetry workbook

• Neutron dosimetry approach needs to be revised and 

possibility of n:p approach researched

• Dose assignment for unmonitored workers

• Guidance on dose from skin contamination

Open external dosimetry issues
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

• On-site external exposure before 1972 (use of PROC-0060) 

to be addressed

• Outdoor inhalation and exposure from incidents at Site A

Open environmental TBD issues
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

• Insufficient number of incidents and accidents addressed 

in TBD 

• Monitoring of contractors, transferees and visitors

• Human Radiation Experiments

Other issues
Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

• Operations transfer between Met Lab to ANL-E and from Site A 

to Site D

• Details on operations at Site A and Plot M

• Exposure potential at early reactors and accelerators

• Early health physics procedures and requirements

• Pre-1972 environmental exposures

• Monitoring status of contractors and subcontractors

Additional information needs