Pinellas Plant

Site Profile Update

Peter A. Darnell, CHP, RRPT

Health Physicist

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Division of Compensation Analysis and Support

December 2011

Tampa, FL
Background

 DOE operations 1957 to 1997

• Plant was located in Clearwater, FL

• Produced precisely-timed neutron generators used to 

initiate nuclear explosions

—Accelerator-type neutron generators produced at Pinellas 

gradually replaced polonium-beryllium initiators 

manufactured at the Mound site

• Also fabricated other weapons components that 

included: lightning-arrestor connectors, specialty 

capacitors, crystal resonators, magnetics, and 

optoelectronic devices
Background—cont.

 September 1994, Pinellas stopped producing 

weapons-related components and began to change 

its mission to environmental management

• The Department of Energy (DOE) transferred much of the 

Pinellas production capability to the Kansas City Plant in 

Missouri and the Sandia National Laboratory in New 

Mexico 

 DOE completed cleanup of the site in December 

1997 

 Contractors

• General Electric Company (1957-1992) 

• Lockheed Martin Specialty Components, Inc. (1992-1997) 
History of the Site Profile Review

 2005 – Initial Pinellas Plant TBD completed

 2006 – TBD updates (page changes) completed for the 

External (2), Site Description and X-ray sections

 May 2007 – SC&A review of the Pinellas profile 

submitted

• 11 primary issues and 8 secondary issues

 June 2008 – Pinellas Work Group meeting

• Agreement in principle for satisfying SC&A issues
October 2011 WG Meeting

 Updates to the Pinellas Plant Site Profile

• July 2011 – 

• Introduction (ORAUT-TKBS-0029-1, Rev 01)

• Site Description (ORAUT-TKBS-0029-2, Rev 02)

• Occupational Environmental Dose 

(ORAUT-TKBS-0029-4, Rev 01)

• Occupational Internal Dose (ORAUT-TKBS-0029-5, Rev 01)

• August 2011 – Occupational External Dose 

(ORAUT-TKBS-0029-6, Rev 01)

• October 2011 – Occupational Medical Dose 

(ORAUT-TKBS-0029-3, Rev 01)
October 2011 WG Meeting—cont.

 Discussion of the review matrix

• 11 primary and 8 secondary issues

—Primary issues include:

1. Reconstruction of doses in the absence of early 

health physics, industrial hygiene, and environmental 

records 

2. Potential doses from insoluble metal tritides not 

sufficiently addressed

3. Minimum detectable concentrations and 

uncertainties for plutonium and bioassay 

measurements are inadequately addressed 

(Occupational Internal Dose; ORAUT-TKBS-0029-5)
October 2011 WG Meeting—cont.

 Discussion of the review matrix—cont.

4. Assessment of personnel badging policy during 

early years needs further review

5. Problems with personnel dosimetry

6. Decontamination and decommission (D&D) era 

of Pinellas operations is not sufficiently 

addressed

7. Missing internal dose estimation methods for 

unmonitored workers (e.g., maintenance and 

support personnel)
October 2011 WG Meeting—cont.

 Discussion of the review matrix—cont. 

8. Potential missed dose for depleted uranium

9. The TBD fails to adequately define and assess 

occupational medical exposure

10. Techniques and protocols increase uncertainty of 

dose conversion factors listed in the TBD

11. Frequency and type of X-ray exposure is uncertain
Work Group Path Forward

 NIOSH – revising Pu bioassay section of the TBD

 SC&A 

• Reviewing documents to verify changes reported by 

NIOSH

• Revisiting Pu bioassay data

• Conducting personnel interviews (December 9, 2011)