ORAU TEAM

Dose Reconstruction

Project for NIOSH

Oak Ridge Associated Universities I Dade Moeller & Associates I MJW Corporation

Page 1 of 8

Document Title:

Energy Technology Engineering Center – 

Introduction

Document Number: ORAUT-TKBS-0038-1 

Revision: 00

Effective Date: 02/21/2006

Type of Document: TBD

Supersedes: None

Subject Expert: Melton H. Chew

Document Owner

Approval: Signature on File Approval Date: 01/10/2006

Melton H. Chew, TBD Team Leader

Approval: Signature on File Approval Date: 01/10/2006

Judson L. Kenoyer, Task 3 Manager

Concurrence: Signature on File Concurrence Date: 02/06/2006

Kate Kimpan, Project Director

Approval: Signature on File Approval Date: 02/21/2006

James W. Neton, Associate Director for Science

 New Total Rewrite Revision Page Change

FOR DOCUMENTS MARKED AS A TOTAL REWRITE, REVISION, OR PAGE CHANGE, REPLACE THE PRIOR 

REVISION AND DISCARD / DESTROY ALL COPIES OF THE PRIOR REVISION.
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0038-1 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 02/21/2006 Page 2 of 8

PUBLICATION RECORD

EFFECTIVE 

DATE

REVISION

NUMBER DESCRIPTION

02/21/2006 00 New technical basis document for the Energy Technology 

Engineering Center – Introduction. First approved issue. Training 

required: As determined by the Task Manager. Initiated by Melton 

H. Chew.
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0038-1 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 02/21/2006 Page 3 of 8

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION TITLE

Acronyms and Abbreviations ...............................................................................................................

PAGE

4

1.0 Introduction............... ...............................................................................................................5

1.1 Purpose........................................................................................................................5

1.2 Scope...........................................................................................................................6

 1.2.1 Site Description................................................................................................. 6

 1.2.2 Occupational Medical Dose............................................................................... 6

 1.2.3 Occupational Environmental Dose .................................................................... 6

 1.2.4 Occupational Internal Dose............................................................................... 6

 1.2.5 Occupational External Dosimetry ...................................................................... 7

References................... .......................................................................................................................8
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ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

DOE U.S. Department of Energy

EEOICPA Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act

ETEC Energy Technology Engineering Center

LAT lateral 

NIOSH National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

PA posterior–anterior 

SSFL Santa Susana Field Laboratory

TBD Technical Basis Document

U.S.C. United States Code

§ section
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1.0

Technical basis documents (TBDs) and site profile documents are general working documents that 

provide guidance concerning the preparation of dose reconstructions at particular sites or categories 

of sites. They will be revised in the event additional relevant information is obtained about the 

affected site(s). These documents may be used to assist the National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the completion of the individual work required for each dose 

reconstruction.

INTRODUCTION

In this document the word “facility” is used as a general term for an area, building, or group of 

buildings that served a specific purpose at a site. It does not necessarily connote an “atomic weapons 

employer facility” or a “Department of Energy [DOE] facility” as defined in the Energy Employees 

Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act [EEOICPA; 42 U.S.C. § 7384l(5) and (12)]. 

EEOICPA defines a DOE facility as “any building, structure, or premise, including the grounds upon 

which such building, structure, or premise is located ... in which operations are, or have been, 

conducted by, or on behalf of, the Department of Energy (except for buildings, structures, premises, 

grounds, or operations ... pertaining to the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program)” [42 U.S.C. § 

7384l(12)]. Accordingly, except for the exclusion for the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program noted 

above, any facility that performs or performed DOE operations of any nature whatsoever is a DOE 

facility encompassed by EEOICPA.

For employees of DOE or its contractors with cancer, the DOE facility definition only determines 

eligibility for a dose reconstruction, which is a prerequisite to a compensation decision (except for 

members of the Special Exposure Cohort). The compensation decision for cancer claimants is based 

on a section of the statute entitled “Exposure in the Performance of Duty.” That provision [42 U.S.C. § 

7384n(b)] says that an individual with cancer “shall be determined to have sustained that cancer in the 

performance of duty for purposes of the compensation program if, and only if, the cancer ... was at 

least as likely as not related to employment at the facility [where the employee worked], as 

determined in accordance with the [probability of causation] guidelines established under subsection 

(c) ....” [42 U.S.C. § 7384n(b)]. Neither the statute nor the probability of causation guidelines (nor the 

dose reconstruction regulation) define “performance of duty” for DOE employees with a covered 

cancer or restrict the “duty” to nuclear weapons work.

As noted above, the statute includes a definition of a DOE facility that excludes “buildings, structures, 

premises, grounds, or operations covered by Executive Order No. 12344, dated February 1, 1982 (42

U.S.C. 7158 note), pertaining to the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program” [42 U.S.C. § 7384l(12)]. 

While this definition contains an exclusion with respect to the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, the 

section of EEOICPA that deals with the compensation decision for covered employees with cancer 

[i.e., 42 U.S.C. § 7384n(b), entitled “Exposure in the Performance of Duty”] does not contain such an 

exclusion. Therefore, the statute requires NIOSH to include all radiation exposures in its dose 

reconstructions for employees at DOE facilities, including radiation exposures related to the Naval 

Nuclear Propulsion Program. As a result, all internal and external dosimetry results are considered 

valid for use in dose reconstruction. No efforts are made to determine the eligibility of any fraction of 

total measured exposure for inclusion in dose reconstruction.

1.1 PURPOSE

The purpose of this document is to provide a site profile that contains technical basis information for 

evaluation of the total occupational dose for EEOICPA claimants who were employed at the Energy 

Technology Engineering Center (ETEC).
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1.2 SCOPE

This site profile consists of six TBDs: Introduction, Site Description, Occupational Medical Dose, 

Occupational Environmental Dose, Occupational Internal Dose, and Occupational External Dosimetry.

1.2.1

The Site Description TBD (ORAUT 2005a) describes ETEC since its establishment by the U.S. 

Atomic Energy Commission in 1966 to provide management, engineering, testing, consultation, and 

project monitoring services for a wide range of DOE programs. The ETEC consists of governmentowned buildings within Area IV of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) in the Simi Hills of 

Ventura County, California, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. This TBD describes 

the site including the site areas or buildings, site processes, periods of operation, radionuclides of 

concern, and other information pertinent to dose reconstruction. In addition, the TBD describes 

ETEC-related activities at the Downey, Canoga Park, and De Soto facilities.

Site Description

1.2.2

The Occupational Medical Dose TBD (ORAUT 2005b) provides information about the dose that 

individual workers received from X-ray examinations required as a condition of employment. X-ray 

examinations were included in pre-employment physical examinations, and chest X-rays were 

included as part of periodic physicals. The review of records suggests that about half of the 

pre-employment examinations included both posterior–anterior (PA) and lateral (LAT) chest views and 

one or two views (PA and LAT) of the lumbar spine. The remainder included only one PA chest view. 

It was rare for an employee to have annual chest X-rays; most individuals were not subject to periodic 

radiographic reexamination. Of those who were, the typical frequency was 3 to 5 years. There was 

no evidence of collimation on the X-rays, and there was no evidence of the use of photofluorography. 

There was no evidence of the use of gonadal shielding in the lumbar spine views.

Occupational Medical Dose

1.2.3

The Occupational Environmental Dose TBD (ORAUT 2005c) discusses the doses received by 

workers on the grounds but outside the facilities at ETEC. The doses were from facility discharges to 

the atmosphere, from ambient external radiation originating in the facilities, and from inadvertent 

ingestion of radionuclides. The TBD describes the estimated annual intakes for inhalation exposure, 

the estimated radiation dose from ambient external exposures, and inadvertent ingestion at the ETEC. 

Because environmental measurements do not distinguish the source of emissions, they reflect air 

concentrations from nearby as well as distant sources. The receptors addressed in the TBD are 

ETEC employees who did not wear external dosimetry or who were not monitored for internal 

exposures. The TBD provides annual intakes and ambient external dose from 1959 to 1999.

Occupational Environmental Dose

1.2.4

The Internal Dose TBD (ORAUT 2005d) discusses the internal dosimetry program at ETEC. It 

provides supporting technical data to evaluate the internal occupational doses that can reasonably be 

associated with the radiation exposures of the ETEC worker. The internal occupational doses are 

from exposures in ETEC facilities and from onsite exposures to ETEC environmental releases. The 

document discusses the technical basis for methods used to prepare ETEC worker dose information 

for input to the NIOSH Interactive RadioEpidemiological Program. Information on measurement 

uncertainties is an integral component of the approach. The document describes the evaluation of 

Occupational Internal Dose
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0038-1 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 02/21/2006 Page 7 of 8

uncertainty for ETEC exposure and dose records. The TBD addresses missed doses as well as the 

evaluation of exposure to unmonitored and monitored workers. 

1.2.5

The External Dosimetry TBD (ORAUT 2005e) discusses historical and current practices in relation to 

the evaluation of external exposure data for monitored and unmonitored workers at ETEC. In the 

beginning ETEC had its own dosimeter in addition to pencil dosimeters. ETEC started using 

commercial vendors in the early 1960s and continued that practice to the end of its operating life. 

This TBD describes the external dosimetry systems and practices at the facility. Missed doses result 

from the minimum detectable levels of the dosimeters and the exchange periods. In cases of lost or 

destroyed dosimeters, estimates are based on past results or similar work, coworker results, or the 

product of instrument measurements and time spent in the radiation zone. Neutron doses were 

measured with nuclear track emulsion, Type A film for the start of reactor operations. Both fast and 

thermal neurons were measured and recorded as whole-body dose. Missed doses for unmonitored 

employees could be as much as 500 millirem or 10% of whatever standard was in effect at the time of 

employment.

Occupational External Dosimetry
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REFERENCES

ORAUT (Oak Ridge Associated Universities Team), 2005a, Technical Basis Document for the Energy 

Technology Engineering Center – Site Description, ORAUT-TKBS-0038-2, Rev. 00, Oak 

Ridge, Tennessee, November.

ORAUT (Oak Ridge Associated Universities Team), 2005b, Technical Basis Document for the Energy 

Technology Engineering Center – Occupational Medical Dose, ORAUT-TKBS-0038-3, Rev. 

00, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, November.

ORAUT (Oak Ridge Associated Universities Team), 2005c, Technical Basis Document for the Energy 

Technology Engineering Center – Occupational Environmental Dose, ORAUT-TKBS-0038-4, 

Rev. 00, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, November.

ORAUT (Oak Ridge Associated Universities Team), 2005d, Technical Basis Document for the Energy 

Technology Engineering Center – Occupational Internal Dose, ORAUT-TKBS-0038-5, Rev. 

00, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, November.

ORAUT (Oak Ridge Associated Universities Team), 2005e, Technical Basis Document for the Energy 

Technology Engineering Center – Occupational External Dosimetry, ORAUT-TKBS-0038-6, 

Rev. 00, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, November.