Brookhaven National Laboratory 

Special Exposure Cohort

Grady Calhoun, CHP

Supervisory Health Scientist

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Division of Compensation Analysis and Support

March 2013

Augusta, GA
Overview

 Classes added to the SEC:

January 9, 2010 ‐ All employees who worked in a

at BNL in Upton, New York, from January 1, 1947 

December 31, 1979

June 10, 2012 ‐ All employees who worked in an

BNL in Upton, New York, from January 1, 1980 to

December 31, 1993
Overview—cont.

 Classes added to the SEC:

Both classes were added due to the inconsistent avof internal dosimetry records

 Continued Review:

• The Advisory Board’s BNL Work Group was taske

reviewing end date of December 31, 1993

• May, 22, 2012, Sanford Cohen & Associates (SC&

report listing concerns with 5 specific cases
Review

 Continued Review:

• The cases reviewed had at least some employme

in the High Flux Beam Reactor, where tritium mois required of routine employees

• The concerns focused on tritium urinalysis and i

records thought to be missing from the files of t

individuals
Review–cont.

 Continued Review:

• Dosimetry data was re‐requested by NIOSH as B

request responses have improved significantly s

responses were received

• Significant additional bioassay data was provide

responses

‒ The data thought to be missing was either found in th

submissions or,

‒ Information confirming why monitoring was not requ

identified
Review–cont.

 Concern that tritium sample after 1992 is missin
Review–cont.

 Concern that tritium samples in 1995 are missin
Additional Issues

 Three additional issues from a 2011 review 

the initial 83.13 petition arose involving:

• Accuracy of reported neutron dose• How dose will be assigned to unmonitored ind

after the SEC period

• Potential errors associated with transferring d

between the different databases used over tim
Additional Issues–cont.

 Accuracy of reported neutron dose

• SC&A/NIOSH technical call concluded that this 

Technical Basis Document (TBD) issue rather th

SEC issue

 How to deal with unmonitored individuals 

the SEC period

• NIOSH will assign ambient internal and extern

per the TBD requirements, for unmonitoredindividuals after 1993 SEC end date
Additional Issues–cont.

 Potential errors associated with transferrin

external dosimetry data between the diffe

databases used over time

• Most recent database (Health Physics Records

System‐HPRS) started in 1996

• Data from previous database was not transfer

electronically or manually to HPRS
Additional Issues–cont.

 Landauer maintained previous external

dosimetry database and was responsibl

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

 All data from 1985 through 1995 is avai

in hard copy or microfiche

 5 of 5 cases reviewed contain Landauer 

document in the individual files for 1994and/or 1995
Feasibility of Dose Reconstruc

 The external exposure data submitted in

response to claims is very complete for the

monitored population

 The internal exposure data submitted in

response to claims is very complete for the

monitored population after December 31, 

 The monitored population includes all of t

that would have been expected to receive

exposure over the history of operations at 
Feasibility of Dose Reconstructi

 Site‐specific and claimant‐specific data ava

for BNL for the time period after Decembe1993, are sufficient to allow NIOSH to comdose reconstruction