National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

SEC-00253 – Reduction Pilot Plant

Angelica Gheen, MHP

Health Physicist

Teleconference Meeting of the Uranium Refining Atomic Weapons 

Employers (AWEs) Work Group

February 17th, 2022
Reduction Pilot Plant ■ Huntington, West Virginia ■ Operated by International Nickel Company 

(INCO)

■ Manufactured nickel powder for use in 

gaseous diffusion plants

■ DOE Facility: 1951 – November 26, 1978

Remediation: November 27, 1978 – May 

18, 1979

Standby Period: May 1, 1963 – Nov 26, 

1978

■ Remediation Contractor: Cleveland 

Wrecking Company

SRDB 85876, p.3

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INCO Operations

■ The RPP was a 3.47 acre fenced area adjacent to INCO’s large 

nickel plant in Huntington, West Virginia

■ The facility was built and operated by INCO starting in 1951

■ Security clearances were required

■ Operations included use of low enriched uranium-contaminated 

nickel scrap supplied by the Department of Energy (DOE)

■ Facility placed in Standby in 1963; demolished in 1978-1979

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Petition SEC-00253

■ Received June 25, 2019

■ Requested SEC class:

– All INCO security personnel who worked at any location within 

the Reduction Pilot Plant during the period from June 7, 1976 

through November 26, 1978

■ The requested SEC class is within the Standby period

– Operations end and facility placed in Standby on May 1, 1963 –

Nov 26, 1978

– The Standby period was not a covered period under EEOICPA 

when the petition was received

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Petition SEC-00253, continued

■ July 31, 2019: NIOSH asked DOL to review the petitioner’s claim 

that the Standby period should be covered under EEOICPA

– During Standby, INCO was under contract for maintenance and 

security

■ November 15, 2019: DOL notified NIOSH that the Standby 

period was being added to the DOE facility covered time period

■ Petition qualified for review on December 13, 2019 on the basis that

NIOSH had no radiation exposure records for the requested class

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Evaluation Report (ER)

■ NIOSH Evaluated Class:

– All International Nickel Company (INCO) security personnel who 

worked at any location within the Reduction Pilot Plant during 

the period from June 7, 1976 through November 26, 1978

■ NIOSH approved the ER on April 24, 2020

■ NIOSH feasibility determination: dose reconstructions can be 

completed with sufficient accuracy for all members of the evaluated 

class

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Background Information

■ During the period covered by petition SEC-00253 the RPP facility 

was idle 

– Nickel production at the RPP ended in 1962; the plant was 

maintained in a standby condition by INCO

– Security guards were required to check the production building 

and compressor building once per shift (3 times daily)

– All maintenance activities were terminated in March 1975; INCO 

security guards made rounds through November 26, 1978

– Demolition began November 27, 1978

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Reduction Pilot Plant Layout

SRDB 179705, p.40

The Process Building was a 130 

feet long, five-story building. The 

Compressor Building was a 150 

feet long, single-floor building. 

There was a small two-story 

structure attached to one corner. 

The 3.67-acre rectangular shaped 

RPP lot measured 500 feet by 320 

feet, which indicates a total 

perimeter distance of 1,640 feet.

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Walk-Through Exposure Time

■ The ER provided an estimate of the time it took to perform a walkthrough inspection of the RPP

– The ER estimated 5 minutes (allowing for stops) to walk the 

length of the Compressor Building based on walking 150 feet at 

4.4 feet per second; a factor of 3 was applied to allow for 

walking through both the Process Building and the Compressor 

Building, and the RPP grounds 

– This yielded 15 minutes per day at the RPP; 15 minutes per day 

multiplied by 365 days to provide an exposure time of 91.3 

hours per year

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National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Questions?

02/17/2022