Vitro Manufacturing - Canonsburg

Addendum to the 

Special Exposure Cohort 

Petition Evaluation Report

James W. Neton, Ph.D., CHP

Associate Director for Science

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Division of Compensation Analysis and Support

August 2011

Richland, WA
Petition Overview

 July 14, 2010: 42 CFR Part 83.13 petition 

received (SEC-00177) 

 September 9, 2010: Petition qualified for 

evaluation

 NIOSH divided the petitioner-requested class 

into two periods to be separately evaluated 

• January 1, 1958 through December 31, 1959

• Residual radiation period: January 1, 1960 through 

April 30, 1965 (was reserved for further research)
Petition Overview—cont. 

 Evaluation for the first period presented at the 

Advisory Board meeting held in February 2011

• Based on NIOSH’s recommendation, a class has been 

designated covering January 1, 1958 through 

December 31, 1959

 Addendum to the Evaluation Report completes 

NIOSH’s evaluation of the second period

• January 1, 1960 through September 30, 1965
Background 

 Located in Canonsburg, PA, approximately 20 

miles southwest of Pittsburgh 

 Performed Manhattan Engineering District 

(MED) and Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) 

contract recovery of uranium from residues and 

scraps beginning in August 1942

 Performed various process developments to 

recover uranium from different waste streams 

including the Tonawanda wastes stored at Lake 

Ontario Ordnance Works
Background—cont. 

 In 1955, received first of a series of source material 

licenses to import milling by-product residues from 

Canada

 In January 1957, completed the shipment of 10K 

running tons of residues that had been classified as 

“unrecoverable material-measured” to Blairsville

 Two piles of imported residues resulted and 

remained on the Canonsburg site

 Work to bury the two residue piles in the lagoon 

area began in July 1965, and was completed by 

September 30, 1965
Vitro Operations: 1960-1965

 Decontamination and decommissioning conducted in 

early 1960

• Shuttering of process equipment

• Storing and removing ore residues

• Appears to have been completed by May 1960

 Indications of some work activities after May 1960

• Residue piles remained onsite, protected by a chain link 

fence and a guard service

• Vitro indicated to the AEC that the material was being kept 

wet to prevent resuspension of particles during this storage 

period
Vitro Operations: 1960-1965—cont.

 Residue piles provided source-term for exposure

• More than 4,000 dry tons of ore processing residue 

stored above ground

• AEC inspection detected levels of contamination in 

uncontrolled areas above permissible levels

• Potential for wind-blown resuspension

 Burial of the uranium residues began August 2, 

1965 and was completed by September 30, 1965
Potential Radiation Exposures 

During the Class Period

 Internal sources of exposure

• Uranium and uranium progeny

—Decontamination of the buildings

—Storage, transport, and burial of the residue piles

—Resuspension from the above-ground residue piles

 External sources of exposure

• Photon/beta exposure from the residues of uranium 

and progeny
Personal and Area Monitoring Data

 Internal monitoring data

• No bioassay data for the evaluation period

• No air sample data are available for the evaluated 

period

 External monitoring data

• No external monitoring data for 1960-1965

• Limited area survey data are available for 1960-1965 

• Surveys and soil data collected to prepare for or verify 

remediation
Sources of Available Information

 ORAU Team Technical Information Bulletins 

(TIBs) and Procedures

 Interviews with seven former employees

 Existing claimant files

 Documentation provided by petitioner

 NIOSH Site Research Database

 Data captures
Data Capture Efforts

 U.S. Atomic Energy Commission 

 FUSRAP data during residual period

 ORNL records

 DOE Opennet (OSTI database)

 Internet search

 NARA Atlanta

 Various DOE locations
Interviews

 Seven interviews with former workers were 

completed for the period January 1958-April 1960 

(petitioner requested period)

 No additional interviews conducted for the period 

beyond 1960

• None of the workers located for interview were onsite 

beyond 1960; therefore, they could not provide 

information for conditions beyond shut-down
Previous Dose Reconstructions

NIOSH OCAS Claims Tracking System 

Information available as of August 8, 2011

 Vitro Manufacturing claims submitted 

to NIOSH 27

 Claims with employment during the period 

evaluated (01/01/1960-09/30/1965) 8

• Pulled for previous SEC (1942-1957) 1

• Dose Reconstructions completed 7

 Claims containing internal monitoring data 0

 Claims containing external monitoring data 0
Feasibility of Dose Reconstructions

 The available monitoring records, process 

descriptions, and source-term data are 

inadequate to complete dose reconstructions 

with sufficient accuracy for the evaluated class 

of employees during the period January 1, 1960 

through September 30, 1965

 With the effective removal of source-term 

achieved through the burial of the residue piles, 

NIOSH is able to model the exposure scenario at 

Vitro Manufacturing from September 30, 1960, 

forward, utilizing its normal residual period 

methodologies
Summary of Feasibility Findings

(1960-1965)

Source of Exposure Reconstruction Feasible Reconstruction Not Feasible

Internal X

- Natural Uranium X

- Uranium Progeny X

External X

- Gamma X

- Beta X

- Neutron N/A N/A

- Occupational 

Medical X-ray N/A N/A
NIOSH Recommendation

All Atomic Weapons Employees who worked at 

Vitro Manufacturing in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, 

from January 1, 1960 through September 30, 

1965, 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 other classes of employees in the Special 

Exposure Cohort.
NIOSH Recommendation—cont. 

Class Feasibility Health Endangerment

January 1, 1960 

to 

September 30, 1965

No Yes