ORAU TEAM

Dose Reconstruction

Project for NIOSH

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

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Document Title:

Argonne National Laboratory – East – Site 

Description

Document Number: ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2

Revision: 00 PC-1

Effective Date: 07/24/2006

Type of Document: TBD

Supersedes: None

Subject Experts: Laura McDowell-Boyer, Craig A. Little, and Norman D. Rohrig

Document Owner

Approval: Signature on File Approval Date: 01/17/2006

Norman D. Rohrig, TBD Team Leader

Approval: Signature on File Approval Date: 01/19/2006

Judson L. Kenoyer, Task 3 Manager

Concurrence: Signature on File Concurrence Date: 01/18/2006

Kate Kimpan, Project Director

Approval: Signature on File Approval Date: 01/20/2006

Stuart. L. Hinnefeld, Health Science Administrator

 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-0036-2 Revision No. 00 PC-1 Effective Date: 07/24/2006 Page 2 of 38

PUBLICATION RECORD 

EFFECTIVE 

DATE

REVISION 

NUMBER DESCRIPTION

01/20/2006 00 New technical basis document for the Argonne National Laboratory -

East - Site Description. First approved issue. Training required: As 

determined by the Task Manager. Initiated by Norman D. Rohrig.

07/24/2006 00 PC-1 Approved page change revision to update required language on 

page 7 in Section 2.1. Adds Purpose (Section 2.1.1) and Scope 

(Section 2.1.2) on page 8. Eliminates some details from Section 

2.2.2 on page 8. Deletes details on page 10 under Figure 2.2 in 

Section 2.2.3. Deletes details on page 12 in last paragraph in 

Section 2.2.3 and rewrites portion on pages 12 and 14 in Section 

2.2.3. Rewrites portion of page 28 in Section 2.4 in regard to Radium 

release. Corrects ANL 2005 references on pages 24, 25, 30, and 31 

in Section 2.2.7.2. Adds ANL references in Reference Section on 

page 32. This revision results in no change to the assigned dose 

and no PER is required. Training required: As determined by the 

Task Manager. Initiated by Norman D. Rohrig. Approval: 

Signature on File____________________________ 06/29/2006

Norman D. Rohrig, TBD Team Leader

Signature on File_________________________ 06/30/2006

John M. Byrne, Task 3 Manager

Signature on File _____________________________________06/30/2006

Edward F. Maher, Task 5 Manager

Signature on File __________________________ ___07/19/2006

Kate Kimpan, Project Director

Signature on File _____________ 07/24/2006

Stuart. L. Hinnefeld, Health Science Administrator
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 01/20/2006 Page 3 of 38

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

SECTION TITLE PAGE

Acronyms and Abbreviations ............................................................................................................... 5

2.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 7

2.1.1 Purpose ........................................................................................................................ 8

2.1.2 Scope ........................................................................................................................... 8

2.2 Site Activities and Processes ................................................................................................... 8

2.2.1 Location and History ..................................................................................................... 8

2.2.2 Development of Site A .................................................................................................. 8

2.2.3 Development of Site D ................................................................................................ 10

2.2.4 Overview of Missions and Programs ........................................................................... 15

2.2.4.1 Production, Power, and Research Reactors .................................................... 15

2.2.4.2 Accelerators .................................................................................................... 16

2.2.4.2.1 60-Inch Cyclotron........................................................................... 16

2.2.4.2.2 Tandem Van de Graaff .................................................................. 16

2.2.4.2.3 Argonne Tandem Linear Accelerator System ................................. 17

2.2.4.2.4 Zero Gradient Synchrotron ............................................................ 17

2.2.4.2.5 Intense Pulsed Neutron Source ..................................................... 17

2.2.4.2.6 Advanced Photon Source .............................................................. 18

2.2.4.2.7 Argonne Wakefield Accelerator...................................................... 19

2.2.4.2.8 Electron Microscope Tandem Facility ............................................ 19

2.2.4.2.9 Small Accelerators ......................................................................... 19

2.2.4.3 Basic Research ............................................................................................... 19

2.2.5 Support Operations .................................................................................................... 20

2.2.6 Summary of Nuclear Materials on Site ........................................................................ 21

2.2.7 Site Remediation Activities ......................................................................................... 22

2.2.7.1 Site A .............................................................................................................. 22

2.2.7.2 Site D .............................................................................................................. 23

2.3 Releases to the Outdoor Environment.................................................................................... 26

2.4 Accidents ............................................................................................................................... 26

2.5 Health Protection Practices .................................................................................................... 30

2.5.1 Personnel Monitoring and Protection .......................................................................... 30

2.5.2 Access Control ........................................................................................................... 31

References ........................................................................................................................................ 32

Glossary ............................................................................................................................................ 36
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 01/20/2006 Page 4 of 38

LIST OF TABLES 

TABLE TITLE PAGE

2-1 Summary of facilities and operations ...................................................................................... 13

2-2 General description of radioactive materials by location ......................................................... 21

2-3 Schedule of D&D and remediation projects ............................................................................ 23

2-4 Estimated annual activity of airborne effluent radionuclides ................................................... 27

2-5 Estimated annual activity of waterborne effluent radionuclides at Saw Mill 

Creek ..................................................................................................................................... 28

LIST OF FIGURES 

FIGURE TITLE PAGE

2-1 Locations of ANL-E Sites A and D ............................................................................................ 9

2-2 Site A ..................................................................................................................................... 10

2-3 Site D ..................................................................................................................................... 11
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 01/20/2006 Page 5 of 38

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 

κ

± kaon, plus and minus, or κ meson, fundamental particles 

π

± pion, plus and minus, or π meson, fundamental particles 

A ampere 

AEC U.S. Atomic Energy Commission 

AGHCF Alpha Gamma Hot Cell Facility 

ANL-E Argonne National Laboratory-East 

APS Advanced Photon Source 

ATSR Argonne Thermal Source Reactor 

ATLAS Argonne Tandem Linear Accelerator System 

Bq becquerel 

CP-1 Chicago Pile 1 

CP-2 Chicago Pile 2 

CP-3 ́ Chicago Pile 3 Prime 

CP-3 Chicago Pile 3 

CP-5 Chicago Pile 5 

D&D decontamination and decommissioning 

EBR-II Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 2 

EBWR Experimental Boiling Water Reactor 

EEOICPA Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act 

ENE Area East Northeast Area 

ESH Environment, Safety and Health 

ft feet 

g gram 

GeV giga electron volt; 1 billion electron volts 

ha hectare 

HVEM High-Voltage Electron Microscope 

hr hour

Hz hertz 

in inch 

IPNS Intense Pulsed Neutron Source 

IVEM Intermediate Voltage Electron Microscope 

keV kilo electron volt; 1,000 electron volts 

kW kilowatt 

lb pound

LINAC linear accelerator 

LMFBR Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 01/20/2006 Page 6 of 38

m meter 

mA milliampere 

MARS Microcosm for Acid Rain Studies 

mCi millicurie 

MeV mega electron volt; 1 million electron volts 

MHz megahertz 

mi mile 

min minute 

millirem millirem 

mm millimeter 

mR milliroentgen 

n neutron 

nC nanocoulomb 

NEC National Electrostatics Corporation 

NIOSH National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 

NRTS National Reactor Testing Station 

ns nanosecond 

PAR Positron Accumulator Ring 

pps pulses per second 

RCS Rapid Cycling Synchrotron 

s second 

SNM Special Nuclear Material 

TBD technical basis document 

TLD thermoluminescent dosimeter 

U.S.C. United States Code 

yr year 

ZGS Zero Gradient Synchrotron 

ZPR-I Zero Power Reactor No. 1 

ZPR-II Zero Power Reactor No. 2 

ZPR-IV Zero Power Reactor No. 4 

ZPR-IV ́ Zero Power Reactor No. 4 Prime 

ZPR-V Zero Power Reactor No. 5 

ZPR-VI Zero Power Reactor No. 6 

ZPR-VII Zero Power Reactor No. 7 

ZPR-IX Zero Power Reactor No. 9 

μA microampere 

μg microgram 

§ section 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 PC-1 Effective Date: 07/24/2006 Page 7 of 38

2.1 INTRODUCTION 

Technical basis documents 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. 

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 causation1

] 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 occupationally derived radiation 

exposures at covered facilities 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 monitoring 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. NIOSH, however, does not consider the following exposures to be occupationally 

derived: 

 Radiation from naturally occurring radon present in conventional structures 

 Radiation from diagnostic X-rays received in the treatment of work-related injuries 

 

1

 The U.S. Department of Labor is ultimately responsible under the EEOICPA for determining the POC. 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 PC-1 Effective Date: 07/24/2006 Page 8 of 38

2.1.1 Purpose

The purpose of the Argonne National Laboratory-East Site Profile is to provide information to assist in 

the evaluation of occupational radiation dose associated with ANL-E operations during the period 

applicable under the EEOICPA, which is from 1946 to the present. The information provided is 

selected based on the need to evaluate monitored and unmonitored worker exposure, as well as 

missed dose, using the methodology in External Dose Reconstruction Implementation Guideline

(NIOSH 2002a) and Internal Dose Reconstruction implementation Guideline (NIOSH 2002b). This 

TBD describes the ANL-E site, facilities and processes, and other historical information about routine 

and accidental releases of radioactive contaminants, accidental worker exposures, and access 

control, for use if relevant worker data is not available. 

2.1.2 Scope

Argonne National Laboratory was established on July 1, 1946, and this TBD is intended to cover the 

time period beginning on that date. The work was a continuation of that done by the Metallurgical 

Laboratory of the University of Chicago beginning in 1941 which is an Atomic Weapons Employer 

under EEOICPA. The job locations did not change until land and buildings were acquired for the 

laboratory. 

2.2 SITE ACTIVITIES AND PROCESSES

2.2.1 Location and History

ANL-E was established as the first national laboratory on July 1, 1946, as a result of the Atomic 

Energy Act of 1946, which created the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the national 

laboratory system. The University of Chicago has operated ANL-E since its creation. The research 

that ANL-E carried out in the early years as a national laboratory began under the university’s

Metallurgical Laboratory, which built the first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile 1 (CP-1), under the West 

Stands of the university’s Stagg Field. CP-1 successfully achieved the world’s first man-made nuclear 

chain reaction in 1942. Before 1946, the University dismantled CP-1 and rebuilt it as CP-2 at Site A in 

the Palos Forest Preserve about 25 mi southwest of Chicago in the Argonne Woods (Site A in 

Figure 2-1). The 7.9-ha (19-acre) site became known as Argonne Laboratory in 1943. 

The present site of the ANL-E (Site D in Figure 2-1) is on the central 607 ha (1,500 acres) of a 

1,514-ha (3,740-acre) tract in Dupage County, Illinois, about 27 mi southwest of downtown Chicago 

and 5 mi west of Site A (Wescott and O’Rourke, 2001a). This site was acquired in 1947 and was 

called Site D (D for Dupage County). Much of the 907-ha (2,240 acre) Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve 

around the site was part of ANL-E before being deeded to the Dupage County Forest Preserve 

District in 1973 (Golchert and Kolzow 2004). 

2.2.2 Development of Site A

In March of 1943, the CP-1 reactor was moved from the West Stands to Site A (Figure 2-2) and 

renamed CP-2 (ANL 1979a). The CP-1 and CP-2 reactors used natural uranium metal fuel and a 

graphite moderator. The CP-2 was surrounded by 5’ of concrete shielding. In May of 1944, CP-3 

began operation at Site A; this second reactor was cooled and moderated with 1500 gallons of heavy 

water and was surrounded by an 8’ thick concrete octagonal wall (Holl 1997 p 113). It is believed 

both CP-2 and CP-3 were located in Building A at Site A. In 1953, CP-3 was updated by replacing the 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 PC-1 Effective Date: 07/24/2006 Page 9 of 38

Figure 2-1. Locations of ANL-E Sites A and D (Golchert 2005, Figure 1.1). 

natural uranium fuel with enriched uranium and was redesignated as CP-3 ́. These research reactors 

operated until 1954 (Wescott and O’Rourke 2001a). Among the programs carried out at this site 

during and after World War II were fission product separation, reactor physics studies, tritium recovery 

from irradiated lithium, and radionuclide metabolism studies in laboratory animals (Golchert and 

Sedlet 1977). 

SITE A

SITE

D
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In 1943, low-level radioactive waste burial began in 1.8-m deep trenches in a 0.4-ha (1-acre) area 600 

m north of Site A called Plot M. At first, ANL-E used glass or metal to contain radioactive materials, 

both solid and liquid, placed them at the bottom of the trenches, and then covered them with sufficient 

soil to keep external exposure rates at acceptable levels. Additional layers of waste and soil were 

placed until the trenches were full. This type of disposal continued through 1947. Sometime in 1948, 

the material for trench disposal was placed into steel bins, then into the trenches, and covered with 

soil. In June of 1949, burial at Plot M was discontinued, and the bins were removed and shipped to 

Site D. The area was covered with additional soil and seeded with grass (ANL 1979a). 

2.2.3 Development of Site D

In 1947 and 1948, several temporary structures were erected in the far western portion of Site D for 

construction contractors (off Kearney Road in Figure 2-3). This area became known as the 800 Area 

and was apparently intended as the construction headquarters. These structures were later reused 

for other purposes, and additional permanent buildings were constructed there in the 1950s and 

1960s. All the buildings have since been demolished (Wescott and O’Rourke, 2001a). 

Figure 2-2. Site A (Jobst, Houk, and Mohr 1978). 
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Figure 2-3. Site D (Wescott and O’Rourke 2001b, Figure 4.5).
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Construction of working facilities began at Site D in 1948 with quickly built Quonset huts to house 

research divisions while more permanent buildings were built. These huts were in the East Area (far 

right in Figure 2-3), which housed portions of the Reactor Engineering group, Metallurgy, Central 

Shops, Remote Control Engineering, Electronics, Administration, and certain other support functions. 

Facilities used in support of operations involving radioactive materials, and constructed in the early 

1950s, included a nuclear material storage vault (Building 16F), a hot machine shop (Building 17) and 

associated dust collector structure (Building 41), and an industrial waste treatment plant (Building 34) 

(Kline, Fassnacht, and Moe 1987). A landfill in the East Northeast (ENE) Area (northeast of the 319 

Area) was used between 1951 and 1956 (DOE 1997). The only masonry building built in the East 

Area was the Building 40 Chemistry hot laboratory. In 1957, Buildings 15 and 22 of the East Area 

housed ANL-E’s International School of Nuclear Science and Engineering, which used the Argonaut 

(Argonne Nuclear Assembly for University Training) demonstration research reactor in Building 25. 

Twenty-five support buildings were built including a coal-fired power plant. Buildings necessary for 

water, steam, and electricity distribution were built in the 100 and 500 Areas in the early 1950s and 

1960s. A holding basin was constructed in the 570 Area in the 1950s as part of a laboratory 

wastewater treatment plant (DOE 1997). A waste ion exchange facility was constructed as Building 

579 (renumbered as Building 594 in 1997) in the 1950s in the East Area to process waste fluids from 

a collecting lagoon (Wiese 1998). Sludge drying beds were used in this area from the 1940s to 1994. 

The 600 Area is used for housing of visiting scientists, recreation, and housing administration. The 

Freund estate (Buildings 600, 603, 604, 606, and 616) was built in the 1930s. Buildings 614 and 615 

were built in 1954; buildings 617-619 were built in 1957; and buildings 620 and 621 were built in 1964. 

Building 460, which was built approximately in 1995 near the APS, is the current Guest House. 

Construction of the first permanent buildings for the laboratory’s missions at Site D began in 1948 in 

the 300 Area. Table 2-1 summarizes ANL-E buildings and their periods and purposes of operations. 

Buildings 301 (Physics and Metallurgy Hot Laboratory), 306 (Decontamination Shop), 310 

(Experimental Waste Processing, Storage, and Shipping), and 316 [Zero Power Reactor (ZPR) 

Assembly] were completed in 1950 and served specialized functions. Caves 1 to 5 were added to 

Building 301 in 1950, 1951, 1954, 1958, and 1960, respectively. Facilities completed in 1951 in the 

200 Area included Buildings 200 (Chemistry), 205 (Chemical Engineering), and 211 (Cyclotron). 

Additional facilities were added to the 200 and 300 Areas in 1952, including Buildings 202 (Biology), 

203 (Physics), 208 (Reactor Engineering), 340 (Experimental Animal Quarters), and 350 (Fuel 

Fabrication Facility). Building 330 was built in 1953 to house the CP-5 reactor, which became 

operational in 1954 and was ANL-E’s primary research reactor. Once CP-5 was operational, the 

CP-2 and CP-3 ́ reactors at Site A were dismantled and the lease of Site A ended. A half-scale 

mockup of the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) was housed in Building 206, which was also 

built in 1953. Building 308 was constructed in 1956 to contain a partial mockup of the EBR-II. The 

full-scale EBR-II was eventually built in 1964 at ANL-West in Idaho and was operated there until 1994. 

Building 331 constructed in 1956 housed the Experimental Boiling Water Reactor (EBWR), which 

became operational in 1957 and generated part of ANL-E’s electricity supply during the 1960s. The 

319 Landfill and French Drain operated from the mid-1950s until 1968. 

During the 1960s, several new facilities were added (Wescott and O’Rourke, 2001b). Construction of 

the Janus reactor for biological studies in Building 202 started in 1959. A 10-MeV Van de Graaff 

accelerator was added in Building 203 in 1960 for physics research. Van de Graaff and linear 

accelerators (LINACs) were added in Buildings 203 and 211 in 1962 for chemistry research. Also in 

1962, a hot cell wing was added to Building 200 (Chemistry), and ZPR-VI and ZPR-IX were built in a 

new Building 315. Building 335 was also constructed in 1962 to house the Juggernaut Reactor, which 

was intended to relieve some of the CP-5 workload. The Zero Gradient Synchrotron (ZGS), a 

complex of 16 buildings in the 360 Area, was completed in 1963. Also in 1963, Building 212 (Fuels 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 01/20/2006 Page 13 of 38

Table 2-1. Summary of facilities and operations.a

Facility Constructed Closedb Operations

Palos Park 

Site A

1942 1954 Primary site of ANL-E until Site D opened in 1948

CP-2 1943 1954 Moved and reconstructed CP-1 reactor; Pu production research

Plot M 1943 1949 Shallow trench burial of radioactive wastes associated with reactor program

CP-3 1944 1950 Heavy-water moderated Pu separation research

CP-3’ 1950 1954 Natural U fuel from CP-3 replaced with enriched U

Site D 1947 Present Present site of ANL-E

800 Area 1947 1992 Initially temporary structures for construction contractors; no indication how area 

was used between 1950 and 1966; converted to site sanitary landfill in 1966

East Area 1948 Mid- to 

late 80s

Temporary residence while main campus was constructed to the west; included 11 

Quonset huts, Chemistry hot lab, 25 support structures (including coal power plant)

40 1948 Present Chemistry hot lab

570 Area 1940s 1994 Part of laboratory wastewater treatment plant – holding basin (until 1978), sludge 

drying beds (until 1994)

16F 1950s 1980 Vaults for storage of SNM

17, 41 1950s early 

1980s

Hot machine shop; used to fabricate or modify items which were radioactive or 

were components of radioactive systems (Building 41 was a sheet metal structure 

supported 9 ft above ground to trap graphite dust from Building 17)

34 1950s 1978 Industrial waste treatment plant

100 Area 1950 Present Distributed systems (buildings related to the boiler house in Building 108, steam 

distribution, well houses)

500 Area 1950s, 1960s Present Distributed systems (buildings related to electrical and water)

300 Area 1950 Present Special nuclear facilities

301 1950 Present Physics and metallurgy hot lab, Caves 1–5 added in 1950, 1951, 1954, 1958, 

1960; remote handling, fuel rod analysis

306 1950 Present Decontamination shop. Waste management operations.

310 1950 Present Experimental waste processing, storage, and shipping; irradiation source facility 

added (1954 - ?)

316 1950 Present ZPR-I (rebuilt as ZPR-IV in 1953, ZPR-IV ́ in 1957), ZPR-II (1952-1954), ATSR

(rebuilt version of ZPR-I in 1960), ZPR-V and ZPR-VII (1950s and 1960s)

ENE Landfill 1951 1956 Landfill for construction debris and miscellaneous waste

600 Area 1951-1980s Present Freund estate taken over by AEC; buildings used for housing visiting scientists, 

recreation, housing administration

200 Area 1951 Present Core buildings

200 1951 Present Chemistry, M-Wing caves with unique containment (1961–present), hot cell wing 

added (1962–present)

205 1951 Present Chemical Engineering, fuel processing and recovery studies, concrete-shielded 

cells

211 1951 Present Cyclotron, Van de Graff accelerator (1962), LINAC (1962)

202 1952 Present Biology, Janus reactor (200 kW) (1963–1992), gamma irradiation rooms, kennels

203 1952 Present Physics, Tandem Van de Graff accelerator (1960), ATLAS accelerator (1982–

present)

208 1952 Present Reactor engineering; Stationary Low Power Reactor (1958–1961), mostly office 

space, Van de Graaff accelerator wing added in 1956

340 1952 Present Experimental animal quarters (1952–1980), vacant and office space (1980–1998), 

post office (1998–?)

350 1952 Present Fuel fabrication facility (1952–1979), renamed Plutonium facility, Uranium facility 

added (1970s), New Brunswick Laboratory (1974–present)

330 1953 1979 CP-5 reactor (5,000 kW)

206 1953 1994 Half-scale mockup of EBR-II

579 (594) 1950s 2003 Waste Ion Exchange Facility (operated only a short time; no exact shutdown date)

317 Area mid-1950s Present Liquid waste disposal in French Drain in mid-1950s; later temporary storage of 

containerized solid radioactive and mixed waste; treatment of surface 

contaminated metal mixed waste

319 Area mid-1950s 1968 Liquid waste disposal in French Drain until 1968, landfill until 1968

308 1956 1994 Second partial mockup of EBR-II

331 1956 Present EBWR (20–100 MW) (1956–1960s; removed in 1990s), low-level waste and 

transuranic storage (1990s–present)
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Table 2-1 (Continued). Summary of facilities and operations.a

Facility Constructed Closedb Operations

25 1957 1965 Argonaut demonstration reactor (10 kW)

15,22 1957 1965 International school for nuclear science and engineering

315 1962 Present ZPRs VI and IX

335 1962 Present Juggernaut Reactor (250 kW, 1962–1970), Flow Induced Vibration Test Facility 

(1976–1990s)

212 1962 Present AGHCF (1963–present), HVEM Tandem Accelerator facility (1985–2001), IVEM 

(1995–present)

360-390, 360 

Area

1961 Present ZGS (1963–1979), rapid cycling synchrotron (1976–1981), IPNS (1981–present)

221 1964 Present House computer personnel

213 1964 Present New cafeteria

311 1964 Present Nuclear rocket tests; experimental facility for miscellaneous projects

309 1966 Present Storage space

325C 1966 Present Prefabricated, hydrogen storage (1966–1979), waste storage

314 1968 Present Fast Neutron Generator (1970–1995)

223 1968 Present Materials Science Division

214 1970 Present Offices for EBR-II project. Facility engineering offices.

486 1970 ? MARS facility 

300 1975 Present Gas station. Tanks removed 2005.

485 1975 Present Greenhouse (1975–1990), bioreclamation and biodiversity studies (1990s)

320 1976 ~2000 Shooting range

333 1977 Present Emergency services building

201 1982 Present Central administrative building

302 1985 Present Security division

320 1985 Present Building next to shooting range for security division

222 1986 Present Graphic arts and electronics

291 1987 Present Guard post at north gate

487 1987 ? Atmospheric studies

233 1988 Present Argonne credit union

400 Area 1995 Present APS facility

207 ? ? Offices in mobile structure

a. Acronyms identified in text; ? = date unknown. 

b. Present = not closed. 

Technology Center) was constructed to contain the Alpha Gamma Hot Cell Facility (AGHCF). 

Building 221 was built in 1964 to house computer personnel from various divisions. A new cafeteria 

(Building 213) and a building for nuclear rocket testing (Building 311) were constructed in 1964. In 

1966, Building 309 was constructed to serve as storage space. Building 325C is a prefabricated 

waste storage building constructed in 1966. Building 314 was constructed in 1968 to house the Fast 

Neutron Generator. Building 223 was built in 1968 for the expanding Material Science Division. 

Building 214, housing offices for the EBR-II project, was completed in 1970. 

Construction in the 1970s involved only two permanent buildings: Building 300 (a gas station), and 

Building 333 (an emergency services building). With the heightened U.S. Department of Energy 

(DOE) emphasis on environmental studies, a temporary frame structure (Building 486) known as the 

Microcosm for Acid Rain Studies (MARS) facility was erected in 1970 for performing acid rain studies. 

Building 485, a prefabricated greenhouse, was erected in 1975 for study of acid rain, ozone, plant 

ecology, and other biological experiments. 

In 1982, a new administration building (Building 201) was built for DOE and ANL-E. The Argonne 

Tandem Linear Accelerator System (ATLAS) was added to the north side of Building 203 in the same 

year. Other buildings constructed during the 1980s include Building 302 in 1985 (Security Division), 

Building 320 in 1985 (next to shooting range), Building 222 in 1986 (graphic arts and electronics), 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 01/20/2006 Page 15 of 38

Building 291 in 1987 (guard post at north gate), Building 487 in 1987 (facility in support of atmospheric 

studies), and Building 233 in 1988 (Argonne Credit Union). 

In 1990, ground was broken for the $0.5-billion Advanced Photon Source (APS) facility in the 400 

Area, and the facility was completed in 1995. 

2.2.4 Overview of Missions and Programs

2.2.4.1 Production, Power, and Research Reactors 

When ANL-E was established in 1946, military projects were the top priority (Wescott and O’Rourke 

2001a). Of first and most importance was the naval Propulsion Project, which was transferred to 

ANL-E in 1947. Argonne’s task was development of control rods and fuel elements for a nuclear 

reactor to power a submarine. The ZPR-I in Building 316 was the prototype submarine reactor. 

Nautilus, the first nuclear submarine, was launched in January 1954. The role of ANL-E in this project 

ended in 1956. 

Reactors for plutonium production were studied at ANL-E. Fuel-processing studies for the production 

reactors at Hanford were carried out in Buildings 205 and 310 in the early 1950s. The ZPR-II reactor 

in Building 316 was designed for ANL-E’s part in developing the plutonium and tritium production plant 

constructed at the Savannah River Site in 1954. 

Beginning in 1946, ANL-E’s mission encompassed research on power reactor design and 

development including breeder and boiling-water reactors. The Experimental Boiling Water Reactor 

(EBWR), which developed the BWR technology for power reactors, was built at Argonne in 1956 in 

Building 331 and was operational between 1957 and 1967. Two partial mock-ups of the EBR-II were 

constructed in Buildings 206 and 308 in the 1950s. In 1965, ANL-E devoted a considerable effort 

toward design of the Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR), but it was never built. Beginning in 

1961, ANL-E scientists devoted about 6 years to a higher-powered version of the CP-5, but the 

project ended in 1967 before construction. Beginning in 1985, ANL-E was involved in development 

work for the Integral Fast Reactor, which is a breeder reactor with onsite facilities to reprocess the fuel 

and reinsert it in the reactor. Research on fuel reprocessing was conducted at ANL-E. The project 

was canceled in 1994. 

Reactors were used at ANL-E for basic research. The CP-2, CP-3, and CP-3 ́ research reactors were 

operated at Site A until 1954. The CP-5 reactor, which was the first research reactor at ANL-E Site D, 

went on line in 1954 and operated until 1979. Research was conducted at CP-5 by most divisions, 

and technicians for Illinois’ first commercial power plants were trained at CP-5. ZPR-VI and ZPR-IX 

were constructed in Building 315 in the 1960s to relieve the workload of the ZPR-III at the National 

Reactor Testing Station (NRTS) in Idaho and were used to test core loadings for the nuclear rocket 

program and the LMFBR project. This type of reactor was very efficient in reactor development 

studies, specifically for study of core loadings. The Zero Power Reactor Program that began in the 

1950s was also involved in basic research. The original ZPR-I was modified and rebuilt numerous 

times for different applications. In 1960, it was modified again and renamed the Argonne Thermal 

Source Reactor (ATSR) for development of sensors and detectors for other reactors. 

Argonne built the Argonaut reactor in the East Area in 1957 as a demonstration tool for use by the 

International School of Nuclear Science and Engineering and it was used until 1965. In 1958, an 

Argonaut reactor was assembled and operated during the Second International Conference on the 

Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Geneva Switzerland (Holl 1997). In 1962, the Juggernaut reactor 

was built in Building 335 based on the Argonaut design. This reactor relieved some of the load on the 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 01/20/2006 Page 16 of 38

CP-5 reactor but was quickly overshadowed by the Janus reactor that went online in 1964. The 

Janus reactor was built specifically for research into the biological effects of ionizing radiation. Janus 

was shut down in 1992. 

2.2.4.2 Accelerators 

During the 1960s, high-energy physics research requiring particle accelerators was one of the most 

important areas of investigation at ANL-E. Before this time, the laboratory had four accelerators. The 

60-Inch Cyclotron, built in 1951 and housed in Building 211, was used for nuclear solid-state physics, 

chemistry, isotope production, and biological studies. Two Van de Graaff accelerators housed in 

Buildings 208 and 203 were used in basic research similar to that conducted with the Cyclotron. A 

Dynamitron accelerator housed in Building 203 was used in basic physics experiments. An electron 

linear accelerator (LINAC) was installed in 1962 in Building 211. The most elaborate accelerators in 

the 200 Area are those associated with the ATLAS, which was the world’s first superconducting heavy 

ion accelerator and remains one of ANL-E’s premier facilities for high-energy physicists. The ZGS in 

the 360 Area operated from 1963 to 1979. Together with bubble chambers, the ZGS put ANL-E at the 

forefront of subatomic structure and neutrino research in the 1960s and 1970s. The Intense Pulsed 

Neutron Source (IPNS), which went on line in 1981 and continues to be used in materials research, 

utilizes many of the buildings occupied by the ZGS in earlier years as does the Argonne Wakefield 

Accelerator (AWA). The Advanced Photon Source in the 400 Area began operation in 1995. 

2.2.4.2.1 60-Inch Cyclotron 

The 60-Inch Cyclotron in Building 211, owned by the Chemistry department, was built in 1951 and 

accepted on July 10, 1952. The facility was operated for research and medical radioisotope 

production through November 1992 (Ramler and Parker 1959, Collins et al. 2001). Decontamination 

and decommissioning (D&D) of the facility occurred in 2000. The accelerator provided about 200-μA 

beams of protons, deuterons, 3He, and 4He ions at energies of 11, 21, 34, and 45 MeV, respectively, 

for irradiations in the cyclotron vault as well as of lower intensities for a 60-in. scattering chamber in 

the Experimental Tunnel. The vault is at a negative pressure of 0.1 in. of water and has an air change 

every 8 min. The Nuclear Medicine Group used the cyclotron to produce 211At, 18Fl, 44Sc, 46Sc, 47Sc, 

47Ca, 64Cu, 62Zn, 114In, 205Bi, and 206Bi. Other groups produced 56Co, 178Hf, and 237Pu. After irradiation, 

the water-cooled targets would read up to 200 rad/hr (beta and gamma) at 33 in. (Okolowitz and Jezik 

1954). Target failure or handling accidents could lead to contamination situations. 

The cyclotron vault walls were constructed of 7-ft normal density concrete (150 lb/ft3), and the roof 

was 4 ft of the same material. Two hydraulic doors (38 ton and 120 ton) provided access when 

lowered and closure when raised. 

The hot laboratory was a room exhausted through high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters that 

contained a junior cave (installed in 1954), senior cave, three fume hoods, radioactive material 

storage tubes, and a viewing window to the main vault. The junior cave with 3-in. steel walls and a 9-

in. lime glass window was 20 by 48 in. inside and exhausted through HEPA filters. The senior cave 

had 24-in. high-density (300 lb/ft3) concrete walls and had a 6 by 10 ft working area. Both had 

master-slave manipulator arms. 

2.2.4.2.2 Tandem Van de Graaff 

A High Voltage Engineering Corporation Model EN Tandem accelerator was installed at the rear of 

Building 203 in 1960. The target rooms were separated with 5.5-ft concrete walls from the accelerator 

vault and a corridor outside. A shielding study used 3 μA of 12-MeV deuterons on a beryllium target 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 01/20/2006 Page 17 of 38

and resulted in dose rates outside the shielding but in inaccessible areas up to about 20 mrem/hr 

consisting mostly of neutrons (Dyer and Mundis 1966). In 1968, the EN was traded for an FN 

Tandem that could produce somewhat higher energy beams. With a maximum of 9 MV on the 

terminal, 18-MeV proton or deuteron beams and 27-MeV helium beams were available. For a 

tandem, the deuteron beams would have the highest dose rate. Beam currents usually range up to a 

maximum of a few microamperes. 

2.2.4.2.3 Argonne Tandem Linear Accelerator System 

Superconducting split-ring resonators were tested in 1977 and then developed into a LINAC. ATLAS 

uses the FN tandem Van de Graff, a booster LINAC, and the ATLAS LINAC to accelerate beams of 

hydrogen up to uranium to an energy up to 17 MeV/nucleon. In 1992, a positive-ion injector was 

developed that uses an electron cyclotron resonance source and a LINAC as an alternative to the 

tandem accelerator. ATLAS is a heavy ion accelerator designed for use in basic research and 

especially for physics experiments with low-energy heavy ion beams. Radiation levels around the 

heavy ion beams are low so that target rooms can often be occupied with the beam on. 

Small (μCi) sealed sources are mainly used for calibrating gamma-ray detectors and are kept in safes 

in the experimental hall. Open sources are typically used to calibrate charged-particle detectors. 

Other sources occasionally used at ATLAS are 252Cf fission sources (open and sealed), and neutron 

sources (Pu–Be and Pu–13C). Because these sources contain Special Nuclear Materials (SNMs), 

their use is restricted to Physics Division personnel. 

2.2.4.2.4 Zero Gradient Synchrotron 

Construction of the ZGS in the 360 Area began in 1961. It generated 12.5-GeV protons for highenergy physics experiments beginning in 1963 until 1979 (ANL 1974). The source was a 750-keV 

Cockcroft-Walton accelerator that injected into a 50-MeV LINAC accelerator. The synchrotron 

magnets (almost 5,000 tons of steel) produce a magnetic field that increases from about 0.0025 to 

over 2.2 tesla in 1 s. The frequency in the ferrite-loaded radio frequency cavity ranges from 4.4 to 14 

MHz to accelerate the proton beam of 2.5 × 1012 protons/pulse from 50 MeV to 12.5 GeV. 

The beam could be extracted at two locations or strike an internal target to generate secondary 

beams to the Meson facility in Building 370. The proton beams sent to Buildings 369/365 or 372/374 

could be used directly or in secondary beams in up to 23 beam lines. Beams of π±-mesons, κ±-

mesons, neutrons, protons, and antiprotons were available with energies above 1 GeV. A 12-ftdiameter liquid hydrogen bubble chamber in a superconducting magnet was available in Building 374, 

and a streamer chamber was available in Building 365. Beam line halls were built with concrete and 

iron shielding up to about 10 ft thick. 

Inside the shielding, all these particles were present and resulted in complex radiation fields. Outside 

the shielding, neutrons and gamma radiation was available in low intensities. This facility generated 

activated materials, but the loose contamination should have been very low with the possible 

exception of near a failed target. Airborne releases of 11C, 13N, and 15O probably existed at levels 

comparable to those from the more recent Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS). 

2.2.4.2.5 Intense Pulsed Neutron Source 

The IPNS was developed using some of the ZGS facilities after the latter was turned off in 1979. The 

system consists of a negative hydrogen ion source, a Cockcroft-Walton preaccelerator, a 50-MeV 

Alvarez LINAC, a 450-MeV Rapid Cycling Synchrotron (RCS), beam transport lines, a spallation 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 01/20/2006 Page 18 of 38

target, and neutron beam lines to experiments. Unlike a reactor, the IPNS neutrons are in pulses 

about 100 ns long, so energy can be measured with the time of flight of the neutrons. The RCS was 

built in the mid-1970s as a booster for the ZGS to increase its beam current. The injector and Alvarez 

LINAC have been used since 1961 for the ZGS program. The preaccelerator and LINAC are in 

Building 361, the RCS is in Building 391, and the spallation target and neutron beam lines are in 

Building 375. When in operation, 3 × 1012 protons at 450 MeV are delivered to the uranium (was 

enriched, but is no longer) target 30 times a second and generate about 1.3 × 1015 n/s leaving the 

target (Carpenter, Price, and Swanson 1978). 

Recent thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) measurements around the outside of the buildings in a 

posted area have shown neutron leakage up to about 420 mrem/yr (Golchert and Kolzow 2004). 

The airborne releases of 11C (20-MeV neutron production threshold with a 20-min half-life) attributed 

to the IPNS were likely a mixture of 11C, 15O, and 13N. 

2.2.4.2.6 Advanced Photon Source 

The APS in the 400 Area was begun in 1990, commissioned in 1995, and continues to operate as the 

world’s leading source of photons in the kilo electron volt energy region; it generates about 1 MW of 

photons. A 100-mA, stored, 7.5-GeV positron beam generates synchrotron radiation for many users 

simultaneously. As a charged particle travels in a circle, the centripetal acceleration results in photon 

emission (similar to stopping in an X-ray generator) called synchrotron radiation, which is particularly 

important for electrons or positrons. Undulator insertion devices in the straight sections of the 

magnetic lattice provide X-ray beams in the kilo electron volt energy region about 1 × 1021 times as 

bright as those from a conventional X-ray generator. Research is conducted in many areas of 

materials, biological, and nanostructure sciences. 

All APS accelerators are in concrete-shielded buildings. A 250-MeV, 2-A (30-ns pulse at 60-Hz 

repetition rate) electron LINAC bombards a 7-mm tungsten target to generate positrons. A pulsed (10 

kV, 6,000 A) magnetic solenoid collects the positrons into a 450-MeV positron LINAC that accelerates 

them to the Positron Accumulator Ring (PAR). Local shielding around the production target protects 

equipment and workers outside the interlocked tunnel. Twice a second the 6-nC positron beam is 

transferred from the PAR into the 450 MeV to 7,500 MeV injector synchrotron (368-m circumference) 

where they are accelerated and transferred into the 7.5-GeV positron storage ring. The positron 

converter was removed in 1999, so that the storage ring now stores electrons and simplifying the 

injector system. 

The storage ring (1,100-m circumference) has 40 sectors, each with two dipoles, other magnets, and 

a long straight section mounted on 5 girders. Synchrotron radiation is used from 35 of the dipoles and 

insertion devices are used in 35 straight sections. Energy loss to synchrotron radiation is about 5.5 

MeV/revolution (insertion devices generate additional loss), and this is supplied by radio frequency 

cavities so the beam remains at the same energy. The storage ring tunnel has a 1-m normal density 

concrete roof and a 0.8-m inner wall of the same material. The outer wall is a ratchet design to allow 

passage of the beam lines and is 22-in. high-density concrete to reduce interference with the beam 

lines. 

The experiment hall for the 70 beam lines is outside the storage ring. Experiments are conducted in 

experiment stations constructed of lead 2 in. thick on the back walls and up to 1 in. thick on the 

sidewalls with roofs up to 0.5 in. thick. Transport pipes between the experiment stations are shielded 

with 1-in. lead to protect against the intense radiation from the synchrotron. 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 PC-1 Effective Date: 07/24/2006 Page 19 of 38

2.2.4.2.7 Argonne Wakefield Accelerator 

The newest ANL-E accelerator (1993 to present) is the Argonne Wakefield Accelerator in 

Building 371. Its emphasis is on studies of high-gradient (about 100 MeV/m) wakefield acceleration; 

the AWA uses a 20-MeV electron drive bunch to accelerate a witness beam, which the wakefield then 

accelerates further. The safety operating envelope for the facility is 400 nC at 30 pps with energy of 

20 MeV. The accelerator is housed in a concrete and steel bunker 6 to 8 ft thick. The electron beams 

are generated from laser-driven photocathode guns. Radiation fields are primarily from an 

electromagnetic cascade, but a few photoneutrons are generated. 

2.2.4.2.8 Electron Microscope Tandem Facility 

The Material Science Division operates the High-Voltage Electron Microscope (HVEM), which is a 

combination electron microscope and particle accelerator in the G Wing of Building 212. It uses either 

a 2-MV National Electrostatics Corporation (NEC) tandem accelerator or a 650-kV NEC ion implanter 

to change a material being bombarded. The material changes are studied using an electron 

microscope. A high-voltage electron microscope was available until 2001, and an intermediate 

voltage electron microscope became available in 1995. Radiation levels around this facility are 

generally well below 1 mrem/hr. 

2.2.4.2.9 Small Accelerators 

Building 203 (Physics) contained a Dynamitron in the northeast corner. In 1951, a Van de Graaff 

accelerator was added. There was a vertical 3-MeV Van de Graaff accelerator in Building 211 in 

1954 that resulted in a nonpenetrating exposure (Okolowitz and Jezek 1954). A Van de Graaff 

accelerator was installed in Building 211 in 1962. Small Van de Graaff accelerators could also have 

been used in Buildings 203, 208, and 212, as well as at Site A. There is a 22-MeV electron LINAC in 

Building 211. Two Febetrons in Building 200 were used to produce 600-keV and 2-MeV X-ray beams 

(DOE 1982). 

The Applied Physics Division used a 3-MV Van de Graaff (possibly in Building 203) until they built the 

Fast Neutron Generator (FNG) in Building 314 in 1968. The FNG used a tandem 4-MV Dynamitron 

that could also be operated as a single-ended accelerator. As a tandem, it could generate over 50 μA 

of 8-MeV protons or deuterons. In single-ended mode, particle beams over 1 mA can be accelerated 

to 4 MeV. 

2.2.4.3 Basic Research 

 While research in the 1950s at ANL-E largely involved reactor projects, there were other types of 

basic research. Research addressing radioactive waste management issues was conducted in 

Building 310, which contained a test incinerator for destruction of dry radioactive wastes. Retention 

tanks in the basement of this building held contaminated water for use in development of treatments 

for liquid wastes, mostly involving solidification. Work in Building 205 involved the processing of used 

nuclear fuels. Air quality studies occurred in Building 200 along with a variety of other types of 

research into radiochemical issues. Physicists were looking at the basic properties of the atom and 

the radioactive effects on molecules during these early years. Irradiation of foods in a gamma 

irradiation pool occurred in Building 310 involving spent fuel rods from the Material Testing Reactor in 

Idaho to investigate the effects of radiation on bacteria in food. 

ANL-E conducted basic research into hazardous radioactive materials such as uranium and 

plutonium. This required sophisticated containment facilities to provide a safe environment for 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 01/20/2006 Page 20 of 38

researchers and to limit contamination outside the research zone. Construction of the M-Wing caves 

in Building 200 occurred in 1961 and 1962 to allow experimentation with minimal exposure to 

radiation. In 1963, the AGHCF was opened in F Wing of Building 212. Similar to the M-Wing caves, 

the AGHCF used a nitrogen atmosphere to stabilize pyrophoric materials for examination. Major fuel 

studies for reactor programs of the 1960s and 1970s were conducted at the AGHCF. 

In the 1950s, ANL-E scientists studied the effects of radiation on humans from occupational or 

medical exposures to radium. For biological studies on the effects of radiation on animals and plants, 

the Biology Division focused on whole-body experiments using gamma irradiation facilities and the 

Janus reactor during the 1960s to early 1980s. After that time, the focus shifted to studies at the 

cellular and molecular level. 

The Material Science Division conducted a large amount of research on superconductors. The 

majority of this work occurred in Buildings 223 and 212 and involved close collaboration with the 

High-Energy Physics Division and use of the ZGS facility. Research in the Material Science Division 

was aided by the addition of the HVEM tandem accelerator facility in Building 212. This allowed study 

of the effects of radiation at the atomic level. The building was modified to incorporate an 

Intermediate Voltage Electron Microscope (IVEM) in 1995, which is still in use. The HVEM was 

dismantled in 2001. 

Beginning in the early 1950s, radioactivity measurements in air, water, soil, and biota were made both 

on and off the site to evaluate the potential impacts of ANL-E. Measurements of fallout were an 

important part of this early program because it was important to understand the dynamics of 

anthropogenic radionuclides from atmospheric testing in comparison to potential contributions from 

the site. In the late 1960s, environmental studies officially became an important mission of the 

laboratory. 

2.2.5 Support Operations

The following discussion addresses only those operations supporting the ANL-E operations that 

involved the use or production of radioactive materials. The Fuel Fabrication Facility at ANL-E began 

operation in 1952 in Building 350 to support various reactor studies. It was later renamed the 

Plutonium Fabrication Facility. In 1959, it was dedicated as the nation’s first large-scale plant for 

making nuclear reactor fuel elements from plutonium. It processed hundreds of kilograms of 239Pu in 

metallic and ceramic form (ANL 1979b). The facility also processed lesser amounts of 233U and 235U. 

The New Brunswick Laboratory operated by DOE was relocated from New Jersey to Building 350 in 

1977. The Laboratory developed and provides reference materials for calibrating nuclear fuels and 

sensors, and scientists verify the properties of radioactive material bought or sold for use in reactors, 

not only for ANL-E but also for organizations around the world (Wescott and O’Rourke 2001b).

Treatment and storage of radioactive materials or radioactively contaminated waste began in East 

Area in Building 16F (Nuclear Materials Storage Vault) and Building 34 (Industrial Waste Treatment 

Plant). The ENE Area (from 317 and 319) landfill was used for disposal of waste between 

approximately 1951 and 1956, but no documentation of waste disposal activities at this area is

available (DOE 1997). Therefore, DOE has assumed that waste potentially contaminated with 

radioactive materials was disposed of here and labeled the landfill a “suspect material dump.” The 

Waste Ion Exchange Facility in Building 579 in East Area (later named Building 594) was used for a 

short period in the 1950s to process waste fluids from a collecting lagoon. The 570 Area unlined 

holding basin used between the 1950s and 1978 infrequently accepted waste with both radioactive 

and hazardous contaminants. The sludge drying beds were used between 1940s until 1994 (DOE 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 01/20/2006 Page 21 of 38

1997). These units were part of the laboratory wastewater treatment plant during those years. The 

Map Tube Facility in 317 Area was a concrete structure with 129 cast-iron storage pipes cast vertically 

into the concrete (Wescott and Moos 1995). This facility stored small, highly radioactive objects such 

as nuclear fuel elements and assemblies or irradiated metal objects. There were also concrete vaults 

in the 317 area for storage of remote- and contact-handled radioactive waste. These vaults drained to 

an outfall into the adjacent Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve until 1987 (DOE 1997). 

2.2.6 Summary of Nuclear Materials on Site

The missions at ANL-E over the years since 1946 have been varied, and some of them were 

classified. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to define precisely the types and amounts of nuclear 

materials on the site in any given year. In 1982 prior to a cleanup, ANL-E had approximately 2400 

batches of SNM representing approximately 2700 kg of fissile material (Beckjord 1982). However, 

generalized observations can be made about the likely types of materials used or produced based on 

the known periods of operations of certain facilities, reports describing contamination, and limited 

bioassay results. Table 2-2 provides a limited summary of this information. 

Table 2-2. General description of radioactive materials by location. 

Area/Building

Acquired/ 

constructed Closeda Program

Types of radioactive materials

used

Types of radioactive 

materials produced

Site A

Site A (non-reactor 

buildings)

1943 1954 Research reactors Sources (e.g., Sb)

CP-2 1943 1954 Production reactors Natural U Fission products

Plot M 1943 1949 Production reactors Fission products H-3 in groundwater

CP-3 1944 1950 Production reactors Natural U Fission products, tritium

CP-3 ́ 1950 1954 Production reactors Enriched U Fission products, tritium

East Area

40 1948 Present Specialized

16F,17,34,37,38,4

1

Late 1940s to 

early 1950s

Early 1980s Support Natural U, natural Th, Cs-137, 

Co-60

U-234, U-235, U-238, 

Th-232, Ac-228

25 1957 1965 Research reactors U

15,22 1957 1965 Education U, Th (Building 22)

200 Area

200 1951 Present Basic research Irradiated Th-232, Sr-90, Pu238, Pu-239/240, Pu-242, Am241, Am-243, Cm-243, Cf-252Rn-220

202 1952 Present Basic research S-35, highly enriched uranium 

fuel

Fission products

203 1952 Present Accelerators Ra-226 Uranium

205 1951 Present Basic research H-3, Pu-239/240, Am-241

(1972–1995); U-233 (1994); Am243, Cf-252 (1995)

206 1953 1994 Power reactors Depleted U

208 1952 Present Accelerators, power 

reactors

211 1951 Present Accelerators Co-60, Sr-90, Cd-109, In-114, 

Cs-137, Ra-226, Th-228/230, U230/232/234/ 235/238, Pu-239, 

Am-242/243, Cm-244/245, 

specialized nuclear medicine 

isotopes

212 1962 Present Basic research Pu in metallic form, H-3, Cs-137, 

Sr-90

Pu-238, Pu-239/240, 

Am-241 (D&D)

223 1968 Present Basic research

300 Area

301 1950 Present (Hot 

Cell Facility 

inactive since 

1992)

Specialized Highly radioactive materials in 

two heavily shielded caves

Large amounts of nuclear 

fuel materials in 1950s 

and 1960s (Pu, U), Cs137, Co-60, Am-241, Bi214, Eu-154, Eu-155

306 1950 Present Specialized Pu-238, Pu-239/240, Am-241
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 PC-1 Effective Date: 07/24/2006 Page 22 of 38

Table 2-2 (Continued). General description of radioactive materials by location. 

Area/Building

Acquired/ 

constructed Closeda Program

Types of radioactive materials 

used

Types of radioactive 

materials produced

308 1956 1994 Power reactors

310 1950 Present Basic research

311 1964 Present Basic research

314 1968 Present Research reactors

315 1962 1982 Research reactors Pu, enriched and depleted U U-238, Th-234, Cs-137

316 1950 Present Production/research

reactors

Highly enriched U Co-60, Eu-152, Cs-137, 

other fission products

317 Area mid-1950s Present Support H-3, Co-60, Sr-90, Cs-137, Pu239, Am-241, Cm-244, plus fuel 

elements

319 Area mid-1950s 1968 Support H-3

325C 1966 Present Support

330 1953 1979 Research reactors Enriched U Fission products, H-3, Ar41, Sr-90, Co-60, Cs-137

(D&D)

331 1956 Present Power reactors Enriched U Fission products, Am-241, 

Cs-137, Co-60 (D&D)

335 1962 Present Power reactors Ar-41, Co-60, Eu-152, 

Eu-154, K-40, Cs-137, 

Am-241, Bi-214, Ra-226

340 1952 Present Basic research, 

support

350 1952 Present Specialized Plutonium in metallic form and 

other fissile materials (1952–

1974);

Residual glovebox 

contamination including 

Am-241, Am-243, Pu238, Pu-239/240, Pu-241, 

Np-237, Cm-243, Pa-233, 

U-235, Cs-137 (1974–

1979)

360-390, 360 Area 1963 Present Accelerators Activation products, C-11,

O-15, N-13

400 Area

400 Area 1990 Present Accelerators Activation products, C-11,

O-15, N-13

485 1975 Present Basic research

500 Area

570 1940s 1994 Support

579 (594) 1950s 1950s Support Co-60, Am-241, Cs-137

a. Present = not closed. 

2.2.7 Site Remediation Activities

D&D of reactors and other research and support facilities has been ongoing since the 1950s at 

ANL-E. Environmental restoration of inactive waste sites under DOE’s Environmental Restoration 

and Waste Management Program began in 1990 with characterization of areas contaminated with 

hazardous and radiological wastes. Table 2-3 lists these activities in the order of initiation of 

characterization and provides available completion dates. 

2.2.7.1 Site A 

The first D&D project was the CP-2 and CP-3 ́ reactors (Site A) and the associated low-level 

radioactivity waste disposal trenches in Plot M. To return Site A and Plot M to the Cook County 

Forest Preserve District as planned for 1956, Site A and Plot M required remediation to the extent 

possible for return to their original use (ANL 1979a). In 1955, work began on surveying and 

decontaminating empty buildings before razing them. The reactors were dismantled, the heavy water 

was removed, and the fuel was shipped to Oak Ridge National Laboratory for reprocessing. The 

heavy water tank and its containment shell were filled with concrete and tumbled into a 12-m-deep pit 

with the use of explosives. The tank and shell were covered with building rubble and soil that was 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 PC-1 Effective Date: 07/24/2006 Page 23 of 38

then graded. The top of the reactor shell is 7 m below the surface (Sedlet 1980). A nearby inscribed 

granite marker marks the location of the buried reactor. 

In 1956, an inverted concrete box 0.3 m in thickness was constructed to cover the burial trench area 

(about 43 by 46 m) in Plot M. The concrete was then covered with approximately 0.5 m of soil and 

seeded with grass. An inscribed granite marker was placed in the center of Plot M (ANL 1979a). 

 A radiation survey of the site in the summer of 1956 indicated no detectable surface contamination, at 

which point personnel were removed from Site A and Plot M. Radiological monitoring occurred on a 

limited basis (DOE 1978) approximately every other year through 1975. 

 Table 2-3. Schedule of D&D and remediation projects. 

Facility Building or location

Year

initiated

Year

completed

CP-2 & CP-3 ́ research reactors Site A 1955 1956

Low-level radioactive waste disposal trenches Plot M 1955 1956

Pu Fuel Fabrication Facility 350 1974 1985

East Area Surplus facilities 16, 17, 22, 34, 37, 38, 41, 55 1983 1985

EBWR 331 1986 1996

Radioactive waste storage area and landfill 317/319 Area 1990 2003

Unlined holding basin 570 Area 1990 2003

CP-5 research reactor 330 1990 2000

M-Wing Hot Cell Facilities (Building 200) 200 1990 1996

Pu Glovebox Facility 212 1992 1996

Fast Neutron Generator 314 1992 1995

Map Tube Facility 317 Area 1993 1994

JANUS reactor 202 1996 1997

Waste Ion Exchange Facility 594 1996 1998

ATSR 316 1997 1998

60-Inch Cyclotron 211 1997 2001

Building 301 Hot Cells 301 1998 In progress

Juggernaut reactor 335 2001 2005

ZPR facilities 315 2002 In progress

2.2.7.2 Site D 

Decontamination and decommissioning of the Fuel (Plutonium) Fabrication Facility in Building 350 

began in 1974. Operations at this facility had been moved to Building 212 in 1973 to make room for 

the New Brunswick Laboratory. Sixteen gloveboxes were removed and either put into use in 

Building 212 or placed in controlled storage. Seven gloveboxes remained in Building 350 until further 

decontamination began in 1979. D&D work involved dismantling and removal of interior equipment 

followed by decontamination of the remaining equipment and rooms. Ventilation ductwork, filter 

banks, utility systems, and associated equipment were removed (ANL 1979b). Documentation cited 

the Argonne-Illinois Health and Safety Manual as providing the basic policy and practice for worker 

safety, but no citation was given for that manual (ANL 1979b). This D&D was complete in 1985. 

D&D operations at the East Area Surplus Facilities including Buildings 16, 17, 22, 34, 37, 38, 41, and 

55 began in 1983 and were complete in 1985. The work involved dismantling of all process 

equipment and associated plumbing, ductwork, drain lines, etc., packaging of contaminated materials 

and soil, and shipping them off the site. Each building was then torn down, and the site was 

landscaped (Kline, Fassnacht, and Moe 1987). 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 PC-1 Effective Date: 07/24/2006 Page 24 of 38

The EBWR was used in research on boiling-water reactor design and technology between 1956 and 

1967. The fuel was removed shortly thereafter, and the residual activity was allowed to decay (Baker 

et al. 1996). D&D activities began in 1986 and were complete in 1996. Work involved removing the 

reactor vessel, cutting up the reactor internals using remote-handling techniques, decontaminating the 

containment shell to the extent possible, and shipping mixed and radioactive wastes for offsite storage 

and disposal. Air monitoring and bioassay were used routinely for workers with the potential for 

internal exposure. Whole-body TLDs were augmented with extremity TLDs, and electronic 

dosimeters were also used routinely for these workers (Baker et al. 1996). 

The Radioactive Waste Storage Area refers to the portions of the 317 Area used historically for 

processing and storage of radioactive wastes generated at ANL-E. An inactive landfill in the 319 Area 

was not explicitly intended for disposal of radioactive waste but the report entitled Environmental 

Assessment, Environmental Remediation at Argonne National Laboratory-East (DOE 1997) states 

that it is suspect based on lack of adequate documentation to describe the wastes placed in this 

location. The 317 Area is currently an active radioactive waste processing and storage area and 

includes the North Vault, which has been empty since 2001. Two 317 Area South Vaults 

contaminated with radioactive materials were demolished in 1995 and 1996 (ANL 1996), and the 

Deep Vault, used for remote-handled storage of transuranic waste, was demolished and backfilled 

during 2002 (Golchert and Kolzow 2005). Contaminants of the South Vaults were determined to be 

primarily 90Sr and 137Cs with small amounts of 60Co and 241Am (ANL 1996). The Deep Vault was 

contaminated with alpha emitters, while the still-existent North Vault is likely contaminated with mixed 

fission products (Richards, Badger, and Kittinger 1993). 

Characterization of the Map Tube Facility in the 317 Area began in 1993, and decommissioning 

began in March of 1994 (Wescott and Moos 1995). The objectives of D&D were to remove the 

remaining radioactive objects stored in the facility and the contaminations to prevent further releases 

of radionuclides to the subsurface environment from this facility. This required removal of water that 

had seeped into the storage pipes of this structure and scrubbing of the pipe interiors. Removal of the 

still-contaminated pipes required a concrete coring rig. The coring operation generated a significant 

amount of concreted fines during the procedure, some of which were contaminated, and thus created 

a significantly larger quantity of radioactive waste to be disposed than was originally thought. The 

D&D project was complete in October of 1994. 

The 319 Area is contaminated with 3H, and possibly to a minor extent with 90Sr, in the mound area 

where the bulk of the waste was buried. Cleanup of the 317/319 Areas has been underway since the 

late 1980s (Golchert and Kolzow 2005) and has been carried out as a series of interrelated actions 

that ultimately removed or contained the contaminants to prevent further migration to groundwater. 

Capping and leachate collection has been used in addition to vault removal, sealing of an 

underground vault drain, installation of groundwater extraction wells, and phytoremediation. 

The 570 Area unlined holding basin was part of the laboratory wastewater treatment plant until 1978

(DOE 1997). Excavation was proposed under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 

corrective action process (DOE 1997). This remedial action was accomplished in 2003 (Golchert and 

Kolzow 2004). 

The CP-5 reactor was shut down in 1979. In 1980, the fuel and all of the heavy water that could be 

drained was removed from the reactor and shipped off the site for reprocessing. D&D of this facility 

began in 1990. By 1996, all of the reactor systems were removed, and removal of reactor internals 

was begun (Baker et al. 1996). Since then, decontamination of the hot cell facility and fuel pool was 

accomplished, and associated radioactive wastes were removed (ANL 2005a). Decommissioning 

was complete by July 2000. 
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D&D operations for the M-wing (Building 200) Hot Cell Facilities began in 1990 and ended in 1996. 

Five hot cells were cleaned including four used in the proof-of-breeding experiments for production of 

233U and 232Th (Baker et al. 1996; Cheever and Rose 1996a). All five hot cells required remote 

disassembly and decontamination work prior to protected-entry decontamination. All worker radiation 

exposures were maintained below regulatory guidelines (Cheever and Rose 1996a). The main goals 

of cleanup were to remove the source of 220Rn emissions from that area and to restore the hot cells to 

an empty restricted-use condition. 

The Building 212 Plutonium Glovebox Facility, which consisted of 61 plutonium gloveboxes in nine 

laboratories, was decommissioned by January of 1996. D&D work began in 1992 (Cheever and Rose 

1996b). The objectives were to remove the glovebox systems, decontaminate the laboratories to 

meet unrestricted-use criteria, and dispose of the resultant radioactive waste. In the process of 

meeting these objectives, radioactive materials were removed from the gloveboxes (with full-face 

respiratory protection), large equipment was removed, and the gloveboxes were decontaminated, 

disassembled, and packaged for disposal. 

The Fast Neutron Generator in Building 314 operated from 1970 to 1991 (Baker et al. 1996). D&D 

efforts began in 1992 and were complete in 1995. No other information about the nature of the D&D 

work completed was available. 

The JANUS reactor (mainly J Wing of Building 202) was used to produce short-lived isotopes by 

neutron absorption and to irradiate plants and animals for research activities by the Biology and 

Medicine Divisions. The reactor fuel was removed in 1993, and a radiological characterization was 

conducted in 1996 (Fellhauer, Garlock, and Clark 1997). Approximately 99% of the total estimated 

activity inventory of 1 × 108 Bq (28 mCi) was in the graphite around the reactor tank. The 

predominant radionuclides were 60Co, 152Eu, 154Eu, and to a lesser extent 239Pu. The major tasks 

during D&D included removal of miscellaneous components, demolition of the high-dose irradiation 

room, removal of the reactor, removal of shutter systems, removal of other support structures and 

systems, and area decontamination. D&D was complete in November of 1997. 

Characterization of the Waste Ion Exchange Facility in Building 594 (Building 579 until 1997) occurred 

in 1996; 60Co, 241Am, and 137Cs were the identified contaminants (Wiese 1998). D&D activities began 

in June 1998 with the objectives of removal of radioactive and hazardous materials from the facility, 

decontamination to unrestricted-use levels, and demolishment of the building. The ion exchange 

system and the resin in it were the primary areas of concern from a safety perspective. The ANL-E 

Environment, Safety & Health Manual (ESH Manual; ANL 2005b

2

) served as a guide for implementing 

the radiation safety program for the D&D project. Personal protection equipment was used, access 

was controlled to keep unauthorized personnel from entering contamination areas, and continuous air 

monitors were used near the D&D work areas. Building 594 was demolished in September of 1998 to 

complete D&D. 

The Argonne Thermal Source Reactor operated in Building 316 until the late 1980s and

characterization for D&D began in December of 1997 (Fellhauer, Mathieson, and Garlock 1998). 

Most of the D&D work occurred in Room E-111 of Building 316, which involved removing and 

packaging activated graphite piles, the reactor assembly, miscellaneous equipment, a contaminated 

fume hood, and cleanup of residual radioactivity in the area so the facility could be returned to 

unrestricted use. The ESH Manual (ANL 2005b) served as a guide to the contractor performing the 

work in implementing the radiation safety program. D&D was complete by October of 1998. 

 

2

The ESH Manual is an electronic compendium of independent sections. According to the ANL-E Web site, each section of the manual is 

reviewed every three years and revised as appropriate. Therefore, information from the ESH Manual at a particular time might not match 

the current version. 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 01/20/2006 Page 26 of 38

Characterization of the 60-Inch Cyclotron facility began in 1997 (Collins et al. 2001). The D&D 

objectives were to remove radioactive materials from the facility and the site and to decontaminate the 

facility to unrestricted-use levels. The primary concern for the project was the safe removal of 

material activated by operations; the primary radionuclide of concern for that was 60Co. Cleanup of 

the associated hot laboratory and senior cave was part of this effort, in which the primary nuclide of 

concern was 137Cs. All areas were continuously monitored for airborne contamination during D&D, 

which was completed in February of 2001. 

Three D&D projects are in progress and awaiting funding. Characterization of the 301 Hot Cell 

Facility was complete in 1998 (ANL 1998). The scope of this project includes cleaning and 

dismantling contaminated equipment and disposing it. Characterization of the Juggernaut reactor in 

Building 335 was complete in 2001, and characterization of the ZPR facilities in Building 315 was 

complete in 2002. 

In addition to the listed D&D activities, there have been numerous other small-scale D&D projects at 

ANL-E over the last 15 years. These include decommissioning of a kennel facility, multiple glovebox 

facilities, and plutonium-contaminated equipment. 

2.3 RELEASES TO THE OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT 

No estimates of the quantity of effluents release are available for 1946 to 1972. Annual environmental 

reports for 1973 to 2004 provide annual airborne releases of radionuclides. Table 2-4 summarizes 

the airborne releases of gaseous radionuclides estimated from measured stack releases at reactors 

and other buildings where gaseous releases were known to occur. Until 1979, 3H and 41Ar from the 

CP-5 reactor constituted most of the gaseous releases. Once the CP-5 reactor was shut down in 

1979, airborne releases were dominated by 3H, 41Ar, and 85Kr from the Janus reactor and the 

accelerators until the breeding verification work began in Building 200 in the mid-1980s. Then 220Rn 

dominated the total releases in terms of activity. Although the proof-of-breeding program ended in 

1987, the stored wastes from this and nuclear medicine studies in Building 200 continued to 

contribute to 220Rn releases. In 2004, the 220Rn releases were less than 1% of their 1986 peak. 

Short-lived neutron activation products from the IPNS and APS have dominated releases since the 

1990s. 

Table 2-5 lists estimated annual waterborne effluent radionuclides from ANL-E to Saw Mill Creek. 

Wastewater discharges to this creek, which also drains surface water from much of the site, and flows 

into the Des Plaines River about 500 m downstream of the outfall (Golchert and Kolzow 2005). 

Tritium is the most common radionuclide released in water. Tables 2-4 and 2-5 include all 

radionuclides for which the estimated release quantity was greater than 3.7 × 107 Bq/yr (1 mCi/yr). 

2.4 ACCIDENTS 

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement for ANL-E (DOE 1979) summarizes the accidents on the 

site. The accidents summarized were those that could “have resulted in significant offsite 

consequences,” but the effects of which “were localized on the ANL site, and generally within the 

immediate vicinity of the accident location.” DOE (1979) does not explicitly identify the locations of 

the accidents; where possible, the locations were determined from other information: 

Criticality accident, June 2, 1952 (Building 316) – A power excursion in the ZPR-1 occurred when a 

control rod was manually withdrawn before water had been removed from the assembly. Four 

employees were exposed to radiation doses ranging from 12 to 190 rem. There were no detectable 

consequences beyond the facility fence. Rose and Novak (1952) describe the event in detail. 
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Document No. ORAU

T- TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 01/20/2006 Page 27 of 38

Table 2-4. Estimated annual activity of airborne effluent radionuclides (Bq/yr).a

Year Rn-220 Rn-222 Ar-41 C-11 N-13 O-15 F-18 H-3 (HT)

H-3 

(HTO) Kr-85 Pu-241

1946–1972 No estimates available

1973 9.8E+14 1.4E+13

1974 1.6E+15 2.2E+12 1.7E+13 8.9E+10

1975 1.7E+15 2.6E+10 1.6E+13 1.6E+11

1976 1.5E+15 4.8E+10 7.0E+10 1.3E+13 2.7E+11

1977 1.5E+15 1.5E+10 1.3E+13 5.6E+11

1978 1.2E+15 3.5E+13 4.8E+11

1979 2.6E+14 2.4E+13 3.3E+11

1980 3.0E+10 3.3E+11 1.9E+11

1981 1.5E+10 2.4E+11

1982 2.1E+10 3.7E+12 3.1E+11

1983 2.8E+10 4.4E+12 8.1E+10

1984 2.8E+12 3.3E+10 3.2E+12 2.3E+12 2.6E+12

1985 1.0E+14 9.6E+10 5.6E+12 1.7E+12 4.7E+12

1986 2.6E+14 5.6E+10 3.3E+12 1.9E+12 6.3E+10

1987 2.4E+14 6.3E+10 7.5E+12 1.6E+12 1.5E+11

1988 1.4E+14 1.0E+11 3.2E+12 4.8E+10 3.0E+11 3.4E+11 1.5E+12 2.6E+11

1989 6.9E+13 4.1E+10 3.6E+12 7.8E+10 4.0E+11 1.3E+11 1.3E+12 1.5E+11

1990 9.6E+13 3.3E+09 1.3E+11 3.2E+12 3.6E+10 2.1E+11 7.4E+08 1.9E+11 5.4E+11 1.9E+11 7.1E+07

1991 1.1E+14 9.6E+09 1.9E+11 3.0E+12 3.7E+10 2.8E+11 7.4E+08 7.0E+11 1.0E+12 2.5E+11

1992 1.1E+14 1.0E+10 1.8E+11 6.9E+12 1.0E+11 4.7E+11 3.1E+09 9.8E+11 4.1E+11 1.7E+11

1993 7.5E+13 3.7E+09 3.5E+11 1.2E+13 2.3E+09 2.6E+08 9.7E+11 3.1E+11 4.8E+11

1994 6.5E+13 1.6E+11 1.1E+13 1.5E+12 1.6E+11 1.5E+12 2.5E+12 7.8E+11

1995 3.8E+13 2.0E+11 1.6E+13 2.0E+12 2.1E+11 1.4E+13 2.4E+12 1.1E+13

1996 1.4E+13 3.5E+11 2.6E+13 7.9E+11 8.1E+10 1.3E+13 2.9E+12 6.2E+11

1997 1.1E+13 3.7E+11 2.4E+13 1.4E+11 1.5E+10 4.6E+12 4.7E+11 3.9E+10

1998 8.8E+12 3.1E+11 2.1E+13 1.4E+11 1.5E+10 5.8E+12 1.6E+12 1.1E+11

1999 7.1E+12 5.9E+10 4.3E+12 1.2E+11 1.3E+10 4.8E+12 4.2E+11 5.0E+10

2000 1.7E+12 4.2E+11 5.9E+13 1.3E+11 1.4E+10 4.4E+12 3.9E+11 1.7E+11

2001 1.3E+12 3.0E+11 4.6E+13 2.4E+11 2.7E+10 2.7E+12 2.1E+11 4.9E+11

2002 1.1E+12 3.5E+11 5.4E+13 4.0E+11 4.4E+10 3.4E+12 3.5E+11 9.6E+11

2003 9.4E+11 3.3E+11 8.2E+13 4.0E+11 4.4E+10 2.9E+12 3.5E+11 5.0E+11

2004 1.1E+12 2.4E+11 8.7E+13 4.0E+11 4.4E+10 1.0E+12 5.1E+11 2.8E+11

a. Blank = not applicable; includes radionuclides estimated to be released at greater that 3.7×107 Bq/yr (1 mCi/yr). 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 PC-1 Effective Date: 07/24/2006 Page 28 of 38

Table 2-5. Estimated annual activity of waterborne effluent radionuclides at

Saw Mill Creek (Bq/yr).

a

Year H-3 Sr-90 Cs-137 Np-237 Pu-239 Am-241

1946-1972 No estimates available

1973 1.3E+11

1974 9.3E+11 2.1E+08 8.1E+07

1975 6.3E+12 1.5E+08

1976 5.2E+11

1977 3.7E+11

1978 1.4E+11

1979 1.4E+11

1980 5.9E+10

1981 3.3E+10

1982 4.4E+10

1983 5.2E+10

1984 3.7E+10 5.9E+07

1985 2.7E+11

1986 1.1E+12

1987 3.3E+10 2.6E+08 4.4E+08

1988 7.0E+10 1.1E+08 3.0E+08

1989 3.2E+09 2.2E+08

1990 1.3E+10 5.2E+07 1.1E+08

1991 5.2E+10 3.0E-03

1992 9.3E+10

1993 6.9E+11 3.0E+09 2.2E+10 4.4E+07 3.7E+07

1994 4.2E+10 1.2E+09 3.1E+08

1995 1.9E+10 8.1E+08 2.2E+08

1996 2.8E+10 9.6E+07

1997 2.7E+10 9.6E+07

1998 4.7E+10 1.3E+08

1999 1.6E+11 1.4E+08

2000 4.3E+09

2001 3.7E+09

2002 3.7E+09

2003 3.0E+09

2004 3.3E+09

a. Blank = not applicable; includes estimated radionuclide releases greater than 3.7 × 107 Bq/yr 

(1 mCi/yr). 

Radium release, June 13, 1952 (Building 203) – A platinum capsule containing 50 μg of radium 

sulfate powder was breached when a technician attempted to transfer it pneumatically from its storage 

cave. The technician had difficulty positioning the capsule in the transfer tube and, when air pressure 

was applied, a puff of white smoke appeared. Much of the (undisclosed) building was contaminated; 

the facility was decontaminated over a period of several months. The technician’s radium body 

burden was determined from whole-body counting and ranged from 0.3 μg at 3 days to 0.04 μg at 235 

days after the incident. 

Filter fire, May 20, 1959 (Building undisclosed) – A HEPA filter in a chemical laboratory was 99% 

destroyed by fire, but no activity was detected either near the fire or downwind of the exhaust stack. 

Radioiodine release, March 14 to May 1, 1961 (Building 205) – Elements of irradiated EBR-II fuel 

were melted in a furnace filled with inert gas in Building 205. Iodine-131 was adsorbed onto the 

surfaces of a bell jar for collection of noble fission gases. When the system was opened and exposed 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 01/20/2006 Page 29 of 38

to air, the iodine desorbed and was exhausted to the atmosphere through HEPA filters and a short 

stack on the roof. A contractor employee on the roof received approximately 50% of the allowable 

body burden. Other nearby workers received smaller doses. 

Plutonium release, March 12, 1965 (Building undisclosed) – A 5.7-g sample of plutonium hexafluoride 

was accidentally released inside a glovebox. Air sampling indicated that 2.4 μg of an undisclosed 

isotope of plutonium was released to the atmosphere, but air and surface concentrations of plutonium 

at sampling points beyond the exhaust stack were below detection limits. 

Polonium contamination at CP-5, April 9, 1970 (Building 330) – While the reactor was shutdown, a 

researcher performed a pressure test on a reactor horizontal through-tube. An unclad bismuth shield 

plug, which had been present in the reactor since 1954, was inside the tube. Polonium-210 was 

present in the shield plug as a product of neutron activation. A temporary seal plug was dislodged 

during the test, and 210Po was ejected from the tube and dispersed throughout the building. 

Substantial decontamination of the reactor building was required, but no individual lung exposures in 

excess of 10% of the limit were calculated. No contamination above background levels was found on 

the reactor roof or on nearby buildings, stored equipment, soils, and grasses. 

Plutonium glovebox explosion, October 17, 1972 (Building 205) – An explosion occurred in a glovebox 

that contained mixed plutonium and uranium oxides. The normal nitrogen atmosphere had 

accumulated a flammable mixture of hydrogen and air, which a spark ignited. Of 15 employees who 

could have inhaled plutonium, two had detectable amounts of plutonium that would result in lifetime 

lung dose commitments of less than 2 rem. No contamination was found outside the building, but 

plutonium was dispersed inside the building both by the blast and by subsequent tracking by 

evacuees and emergency personnel. 

Glovebox fire, March 25, 1974 (Building 212) – Materials were being removed from a glovebox where 

they had been stored. The materials, including “powdered urania, thoria, and tungsten,” were placed 

in a plastic pouch that was being sealed with a dielectric sealer. During this operation, the tungsten 

overheated and caused the fire. There was no contamination of personnel and downwind air samples 

and surface smears outside the building were negative. 

Solid waste drum explosion, December 2 to 3, 1976 (Building 306) – A steel drum containing dry 

active waste including flammable organic solvents absorbed on a desiccant was stored overnight in a 

truck. The following morning, it was discovered that the drum lid had blown off and contents were 

scattered inside the truck. There was no evidence of contamination in either the truck or the 

surrounding area. 

Miscellaneous small fires over a 30-yr period – A few small outdoor fires involving depleted uranium 

were reported. In all cases, contamination was limited to the area immediately surrounding the fire. 

Other accidents involving potential nonroutine exposures of ANL-E personnel have been documented 

over the years in various monthly or annual health physics division reports as well as in personnel 

dosimetry files when nonroutine dosimetry procedures were instituted based on review of the 

accident. Details of routine surveys, minor contamination events, and abnormal radiological 

conditions are described. The accidents appear to fall into three major categories: Industrial 

accidents, spills of radioactive materials and associated contamination events, and reactor incidents. 

Some of the available incident reports estimate the dose to specific workers. Others note that 

decontamination occurred and give some detail of personnel contamination if it occurred. 
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2.5 HEALTH PROTECTION PRACTICES 

The potential for occupational doses from working with radioactive materials was recognized at ANL-E 

from its beginnings as a national laboratory. Hilberry (1947) characterized the hazard situation as 

“one of tremendous complexity,” and recognized that the ANL-E “health services must be prepared to 

guard against damage from any or all of [the exposures to radioactive materials] and must be 

prepared to act swiftly in case an accident does occur.” At the time this letter was prepared, the 

health protection organization at ANL-E had both medical and a health physics divisions. The medical 

division carried out all bioassay analyses and consulted with the health physics and biological 

research divisions to establish permissible levels for exposure. The health physics division 

maintained the personnel radiation meters and film badge records as well as hand and foot count 

records, a continuous monitoring service in all active areas including both air and external exposure 

monitoring, and the marking of contaminated areas. According to this letter, in which the organization 

of the health and biological program at the laboratory was described, a program for bioassay for 

plutonium and other radioactive materials had been developed and was being applied. Internal 

contamination from wounds was a major concern in the 1940s, and means of mitigating this potential 

were under investigation. Beginning in the early years, the personnel monitoring and access control 

activities of the laboratory evolved to the current procedures. The following sections provide 

overviews of personnel monitoring and access control as an introduction to the more detailed 

information provided in other ANL-E TBDs. 

2.5.1 Personnel Monitoring and Protection

As noted above, the need for personnel monitoring was recognized at the inception of ANL-E. 

Bioassay monitoring for plutonium and other isotopes was being carried out to an unspecified extent, 

a system of continuous air monitoring of laboratory air was being developed, and pocket meters and 

film badges were being used regularly (Hilberry 1947). A means of reliably measuring slow and fast 

neutrons was also being investigated. 

In 1956, the Radiation Safety Guide (Novak 1956) formally set forth the procedures for personnel 

monitoring. In specific, all individuals required to work in the vicinity of radioactive materials were 

required to wear film badges and self-reading dosimeters. The dosimeters were to be worn only in 

areas in which radioactive materials were located in such amounts that they constituted a potential 

personnel hazard. Wrist badges were required for some operations. The Radiation Safety Guide 

outlined precautions to protect workers from external and internal radiation and described when to use 

respiratory equipment and protective clothing. Myers et al. (1952) addressed selection of personnel 

for bioassay. 

The Radiation Safety Guide (Novak 1956) was not revised, but procedures it covered continued to be 

revised as missions at the laboratory changed and techniques improved. The ANL-E Health and 

Safety Manual (ANL 1984) replaced this guide sometime in the early 1970s as the policy and 

procedures document to describe personnel monitoring and protection. The Health and Safety 

Manual provided considerably more detail in many areas of personnel protection including radiation 

safety; it specifically required that personnel monitoring devices (film badges, pocket dosimeters, wrist 

badges, finger monitors, etc.) be worn at all times when working with radiation and that protective 

clothing and equipment be worn when necessary. The Health and Safety Manual provided guidelines 

to determine the necessity. 

The ANL-E Health and Safety Manual (ANL 1984) underwent several revisions; the ANL ESH Manual 

replaced it in the early 1990s. The current version of the ESH Manual is an electronic compendium of 

sections that undergo frequent update (ANL 2005b). The ESH Manual provides considerably more 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 PC-1 Effective Date: 07/24/2006 Page 31 of 38

guidance than its predecessor documents about the requirements for personnel monitoring, internal 

and external dosimetry, and personal protective equipment. In particular, the ESH Manual specifies 

that all badged workers (i.e., those who have the potential to receive 100 mrem annual effective dose 

equivalent; 5 rem annual dose equivalent to an organ, tissue, or extremity other than lens of the eye; 

or 1.5 rem dose equivalent to the lens of the eye) must wear dosimeters in radiation areas and should 

wear them while on the site. In addition, the ESH Manual addresses the selection procedures and 

frequencies for bioassay, but implementation is described more concisely in Standard Operating 

Procedures ESH-HPP-504 (Marchetti and Holtzman 1994) and ESH-HPP-506 (Marchetti, Holtzman, 

and Keane 1997).

2.5.2 Access Control

ANL-E went through many changes over the years from a laboratory where predominantly classified 

activities took place to a relatively open campus where outside researchers from industry, academia, 

and other national laboratories can gain access to the sophisticated scientific and engineering 

research facilities on the site. In 1949, 84% of the work at ANL-E was classified. Access to facilities 

was strictly controlled in the early years by physical barriers. A 10-ft barbed-wire fence surrounded 

the laboratory in 1951 (Holl 1997). However, in 1953, President Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace 

initiative promoted extensive declassification of reactor technology, which in turn led to a decline in 

the need for and practicality of security clearances and fences (Holl 1997). 

In 1956, the Radiation Safety Guide (Novak 1956) formally established laboratory regulations and 

procedures for working with radioactive materials. Although physical means of barring access to 

active areas (those areas in which radioactive materials were located in such amounts that they 

constitute a potential personnel hazard) were not directly described, the Guide indicated that 

occupants of active areas were responsible for clearly defining and marking such areas. Further, 

certain regions of the laboratory were specifically identified and marked as areas where radiation 

hazards normally existed. A Work Entry Clearance Form was required for certain areas, and 

Radiation Safety approval was sometimes required, which suggests that entry to some radiation or 

classified areas was controlled. 

With the introduction of the ANL-E Health and Safety Manual in the early 1970s, a “radiation area” 

was clearly defined (ANL 1984, Ch. V-3, p. 3) and requirements were specified for clearly identifying 

radiation areas. Ropes and/or barriers were required for areas with external exposure rates of more 

than 100 mR/hr. 

The ESH Manual (ANL 2005b) clearly specifies, in greater detail than provided by the preceding 

documents, the requirements for access into controlled and radiological areas. It is likely that many of 

these requirements were in place before publication of the first ESH Manual in the early 1990s 

because this document represents the present state of the gradually evolving access control 

procedures at ANL-E. According to the current ESH Manual, access to radiation areas requires 

completion of Radiation Worker I training for unescorted access and wearing of an assigned 

dosimeter. Access to a high radiation or contamination area requires completion of Radiation Worker 

II training at a minimum, wearing of a dosimeter and supplemental dosimeter, and a signed 

Radiological Work Permit. Physical access controls are required for high radiation areas with a dose 

rate greater than one rem/hr. Access to very high radiation areas is prohibited, and physical controls 

are required. Exit controls are required for certain areas to limit the potential for contamination 

spread. In addition, the ESH Manual contains detailed requirements for posting of controlled areas 

and for use of radiation safety interlock systems. 
Document No. ORAUT-TKBS-0036-2 Revision No. 00 PC-1 Effective Date: 07/24/2006 Page 32 of 38

REFERENCES

ANL (Argonne National Laboratory), 1974, The ZGS User’s Handbook, Argonne National Argonne, 

Illinois, March. 

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GLOSSARY 

accelerator 

Device for imparting kinetic energy to charged particles. 

boiling-water reactor 

Nuclear reactor in which the water coolant boils as it absorbs the heat of the nuclear reaction. 

breeder reactor 

Nuclear reactor in which the operation produces a net increase in fissionable reactor fuel. 

control rod 

Device constructed of material to absorb neutrons manipulated within a nuclear reactor to slow 

or increase the nuclear reaction. 

criticality 

Event where a nuclear chain reaction is sustained (controlled or not). 

curie (Ci) 

A special unit of radioactivity equal to 3.7 × 1010 disintegrations per second; 1 disintegration 

per second is 1 becquerel. 

cyclotron 

Accelerator capable of large beam currents where the beam is injected in the center of a 

circular magnet. A fixed radio frequency applied to two D-shaped electrodes accelerates the 

beam as it passes from one to the other as the potential alternates. The radius of the beam 

increases as the energy increases. 

decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) 

Removal of radioactive and other potentially hazardous materials from a facility and removal of 

the facility from service, usually including dismantling or demolishing of the facility. 

dose

Specific amount of energy from ionizing radiation or a toxic substance absorbed per unit of 

mass. 

Dynamitron 

Direct current accelerator manufactured by Radiation Dynamics. The terminal is charged with 

a multistage rectifier system excited by radio frequencies. 

enriched uranium 

Uranium enhanced from its natural state to contain a higher percentage of the isotope 235U. 

exposure 

Measure of X- or gamma radiation capable of ionizing air (usually in units of roentgens). 

fission 

Nuclear transformation characterized by the splitting of a nucleus into at least two other nuclei 

and the release of a relatively large amount of energy. 
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fission product 

Nuclides that results from fission. 

hot cell 

Specialized shielded laboratory in which radioactive materials can be handled with the aid of 

remotely operated manipulators. The walls and windows of the laboratory are made of 

materials designed to protect workers from radiation. 

ionizing radiation 

Radiation with sufficient energy to separate electrons from neutral atoms or molecules. 

linear accelerator 

Straight single-pass accelerator where radio frequencies accelerate the beam over the length 

of the accelerator. 

neutron (n) 

Basic atomic particle that is electrically neutral with nearly the same mass as a hydrogen 

atom. 

neutron, fast 

Neutrons with energy equal to or greater than 10 kilo electron volts.

radiation 

Energy transferred through air or some other media in the form of particles or waves (see 

ionizing radiation); includes light and radio waves. 

radioactivity 

Spontaneous emission of radiation, generally alpha or beta particles, gamma rays, and 

neutrons from unstable nuclei. 

radioactive waste 

Radioactive materials for which there is no use. 

radionuclide 

Radioactive species of an atom characterized by the number of protons and neutrons in its 

nucleus (the mass number). 

rem 

Unit of dose equivalent equal to the product of the energy absorbed in units of rad and a 

quality factor. 

Sievert (Sv) 

International System unit for dose equivalent; 1 Sv is equal to 100 rem. 

synchrotron 

Roughly circular accelerator in which the particles travel in synchronized bunches at fixed 

radius. 

tandem Van de Graaff accelerator 

Accelerator in which charge exchange (negative to positive) occurs in the terminal on either a 

thin foil or in a gas stripper tube. 
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tritium 

Radioactive isotope of hydrogen having one proton and two neutrons. Tritium gas is produced 

in nuclear reactors and used to boost the explosive power of most modern nuclear weapons. 

It is also a constituent of irradiated water associated with reactor operations. 

Undulator 

A device made with permanent magnets used in synchrotron light sources which moves beam 

particles quickly back and forth so that synchrotron radiation from the N (N ~60 to 100) bends 

constructively interfere so that beam brightness is increased by about a factor of N2. The 

energy of the peak brightness beams can be adjusted by changing the magnet spacing. 

Van de Graaff accelerator 

Direct current high-voltage accelerator in which a terminal in a pressurized tank accelerates 

the beam. The voltage is generated by charge carried on an insulating belt. 

water-moderated reactor 

Reactor that uses water to slow the speed of neutrons from fissioning atoms to increase the 

number of neutrons that cause fission. 

X-ray 

(1) Ionizing electromagnetic radiation of external nuclear origin with energies generally less 

than 250 kilo electron volts (includes synchrotron radiation, which is ionizing). (2) A 

radiograph. 

zero power 

Operating a reactor to maintain a chain reaction at an extremely low power level producing 

very little heat. Zero power reactors are used as sensitive laboratory tools to pretest 

experimental loadings of test reactors and for other analytical purposes. Also called low 

power.