Ventron Corporation

Special Exposure Cohort 

Petition Evaluation Report

Samuel Glover, PhD

Research Health Scientist

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Division of Compensation Analysis and Support

August 2012
Brief Site Description

 Ventron Corporation (originally Metal Hydrides 

Corp) is currently listed as an Atomic Weapons 

Employer for the AEC from 1942 to 1948 with 

residual radiation period from 1949 to 1985; 

1987 to 1995. It is listed as DOE for 1986 and 

1996 to 1997 during remediation.

 Principal operations included the conversion of 

uranium oxide to uranium metal powder and 

primary facility for the recovery of uranium scrap 

for the AEC.
Status of Claims

(Current Cases) 

 Total number of claims submitted: 19

 Total number of claims who worked

during proposed (SEC): 9

 Total number with a DR (at DOL): 9

 Total number claims with internal or external 

records: 0
Petition Overview

 Petition SEC 00198 received December 5, 2011

 Petitioner proposed class definition:

• All metallurgical operators and electric furnace 

operators who worked at Ventron Corporation in 

Beverly, Massachusetts from January 1, 1942 to 

December 31, 1948
Petition Overview—cont. 

 Petition qualified for evaluation on January 20, 

2012

• Employees never monitored

 Class evaluated by NIOSH: 

• All Atomic Weapons Employees who worked at Ventron

Corporation site in Beverly, Massachusetts, from August 

13, 1942 through December 31, 1948
Background

 The Ventron site is located in Beverly, Massachusetts 

and occupies 3 acres on Massachusetts Bay, at the 

confluence of the Bass and Danvers rivers. The property 

is bordered by Congress Street on the north, the Boston 

and Maine Railroad on the east, the Bass River on the 

west, and the Danvers River on the south.

 The site was originally developed to produce metal for 

the Office of Scientific Research and Development 

(December 31, 1941 to November 1, 1942).
Background—cont. 

 7,460 lbs of metal produced under this initial contract 

with the OSRD.

 Manhatten Engineer District (MED) took over the OSRD 

contract in November 1942. 

 Metal production from ores and oxides ceased on 

September 1, 1943. 

• Metal was used for the first reactor, CP1

 Foundry was used to re-cast scrap metal and remaining 

equipment to be maintained in stand-by mode. 

 Ventron was the principal scrap recovery facility for the 

MED during this early time period.
Background—cont. 

 Scrap re-casting contract expired on December 31, 

1947. 

• Following this date, all scrap was sent to Hanford for recasting. 

 June 1947 contract called for the development of a 

controllable source of neutrons

• Used 100 pounds of high-grade pitchblende 
Background—cont. 

 Refinery Operations: 

• November 1, 1942 – September 1, 1943

• Estimated workforce of around 107 individuals, plant-wide

• Production rate topped out at about 350 lbs of metal per day 

on a three shift schedule

 Scrap Casting Operations: 

• September 1, 1943 – December 31, 1947

• Project employed 16 individuals

• Production rate of 3,000 – 3,200 pounds of material per day

• Rate reduced to 1,800 pounds per day in April 1947
Background—cont. 

 Three primary facilities: 

• Building A/A-1 (conjoined structures) contained furnaces, 

kilns, leaching equipment and machine shop

—Uranium activities were not separated from other activities in the 

building

• Foundry and machine shop

—Wooden structure South of Building A

—Demolished sometime between 1948 and 1950
Sources of Exposure

 Processing of black ore (later brown oxide) by 

calcium hydride process

• Potential for radium contamination from black ore use

 Production of uranium metal and oxide

 Later melting and re-casting of scrap uranium metal
Sources of Exposure—cont. 

 No discreet incidents involving high-levels of 

radiation

 Spontaneous fires from uranium oxidation were 

routine

• Ignition of powder as it was being hand-scooped into tins

• Material was thrown outside and allowed to burn

• Spontaneous ignition of metal left in leaching liquid 

discharged to outside settling basin – happened once 

every few weeks
External Monitoring Programs and 

Data Availability

 No evidence that a routine monitoring program existed

 Direct surveys June 1944 (listed as Gamma and 

Beta/Gamma)

• 3 measurements of outside stockpiled materials June 1944

• 3 measurements in working areas June 1944

• 2 additional measurements of stockpiled materials in June/July 1945

 Direct surveys December 1947 /January 1948 (Gamma; 

Beta/Gamma; Alpha)

• 24 measurements conducted around Ventron

— Wide spread contamination evident

• 25 additional measurements contducted in January after the removal 

of some of the equipment had occurred
External Dose Monitoring Programs 

and Data Availability—cont. 

 December 19, 1947

• 25 measurements taken

 January 13, 1948

• 24 measurements taken

 Most of the process equipment had been removed 

before these surveys
Internal Dose Monitoring Programs 

and Data Availability

 No routine air monitoring, uranium urinalysis, or 

radon monitoring program

 Bioassay results for one individual in June 1945 and 

again over a 4-day span in August 1945

• Requested as a result of observed significant weight loss 

in that individual

 Air samples

• March 5, 1943: 12 Samples taken

• June 15, 1944: 4 Samples taken
Other Results

 1943 assay by MED discovered the soil at the site 

was contaminated. 

 Soil contained between 0.1 and 79 percent uranium 

oxide

 120,000 pounds of soil were removed in 1944 and 

shipped to DuPont for uranium recovery

 NIOSH has further information that thoriated 

tungsten filaments were produced from thorium 

powder but complete details are sparse.
Summary of Monitoring Gaps

 External

• No film badge results

• Limited area monitoring for a complex source term

 Internal

• Virtually no bioassay

• Very limited air monitoring for single operation

• Data for refining completely absent

—No TBD-6000 approach approved for these operations

—Limitation of TBD-6000 for very hands on operations

• No evidence that any monitoring is available for the numerous 

fires and combustion events

—Fires outside the building further broaden the exposure potential 

for process and non-process workers
Ventron SEC Petition 198

 Why the class?

• Workers were potentially exposed to radium, radon, and 

uranium who were not monitored nor does a suitable dose 

reconstruction method exist.

• Decision was based on lack of adequate biological monitoring 

data, sufficient air monitoring information, and/or sufficient 

process and radiological source-term data to reconstruct dose 

with sufficient accuracy.
Ventron SEC Petition 198—cont. 

 Why everyone?

• Based on reports by the AEC and facility layout, the 

process areas were not isolated from the non-process 

facilities and airborne dust issues form processes were 

noted to be extending into non-process areas.
Ventron SEC Petition 198—cont. 

 What about employees not included in the SEC?

• NIOSH intends to use any internal and external monitoring data that 

may become available for an individual claim (and that can be 

interpreted using existing dose reconstruction processes or 

procedures). Therefore, dose reconstructions for individuals 

employed at the Ventron site during the period from November 1, 

1942 through December 31, 1948, but who do not qualify for 

inclusion in the Special Exposure Cohort, may be performed using 

these data as appropriate.

• Furthermore, NIOSH intends to estimate doses from medical x-rays 

using information from employee medical records and claimant 

favorable medical dose reconstruction assumptions and methods. 
Ventron SEC Petition 198—cont. 

 Why stop in 1948?

• NIOSH has obtained additional contract information 

during its data capture for Ventron which may support 

additional covered period. This information has been 

submitted to the Department of Labor and the 

Department of Energy. NIOSH will review the post 1948 

period upon receiving the response to this new 

information by the DOL and DOE.
Health Endangerment

 The evidence reviewed in this evaluation indicates that 

some workers in the class may have accumulated chronic 

radiation exposures through intakes of radionuclides and 

direct exposure to radioactive materials.

 Consequently, NIOSH is specifying that health may have 

been endangered for those workers covered by this 

evaluation who were employed for a number of work 

days aggregating at least 250 work days within the 

parameters established for this class or in combination 

with work days within the parameters established for 

one or more other classes of employees in the SEC. 
Proposed Class

All Atomic Weapons Employees who worked for 

the Ventron Corporation at its facility in Beverly, 

Massachusetts, from November 1, 1942 through 

December 31, 1948, for a number of work days 

aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring 

either solely under this employment or in 

combination with work days within the 

parameters established for one or more classes 

of employees included in the Special Exposure 

Cohort.
Recommendation

 For the period November 1, 1942 through 

December 31, 1948, NIOSH finds that radiation 

dose estimates cannot be reconstructed for 

compensation purposes

Class Feasibility Health Endangerment

November, 1942 –

December 31, 1948 No Yes