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SEC Petition Evaluation Report

Petition SEC-00198 

Report Rev #: 1 Report Submittal Date: August 14, 2012 

Subject Expert(s): Jason Davis

Site Expert(s): N/A

Petition Administrative Summary

Petition Under Evaluation

Petition # Petition 

Type

Petition

Receipt Date

Qualification Date DOE/AWE Facility Name

SEC-00198 83.13 December 5, 2011 January 20, 2012 Ventron Corporation

Petitioner-Requested Class Definition 

All metallurgical operators and electric furnace operators who worked at Ventron Corporation in Beverly, 

Massachusetts, from January 1, 1942 to December 31, 1948.

Class Evaluated by NIOSH

All Atomic Weapons Employees who worked at the Ventron Corporation site in Beverly, Massachusetts, from 

August 13, 1942 through December 31, 1948.

NIOSH-Proposed Class(es) to be Added to the SEC

All Atomic Weapons Employees who worked for the Ventron Corporation at its facility in Beverly, 

Massachusetts, from November 1, 1942 through December 31, 1948, for a number of work days aggregating at 

least 250 work days, occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with work days within the 

parameters established for one or more classes of employees included in the Special Exposure Cohort.

Related Petition Summary Information 

SEC Petition Tracking #(s) Petition Type DOE/AWE Facility Name Petition Status

N/A N/A N/A N/A

Related Evaluation Report Information 

Report Title DOE/AWE Facility Name

N/A N/A

ORAU Lead Technical Evaluator: Jason Davis ORAU Peer Review Completed By: Michael Kubiak

Peer Review Completed By: [Signature on File] 8/14/2012

Samuel Glover Date

[Signature on File] 8/14/2012 SEC Petition Evaluation Reviewed By:

J. W. Neton Date

[Signature on File] 8/14/2012 SEC Evaluation Approved By:

Stuart L. Hinnefeld Date
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Evaluation Report Summary: SEC-00198, Ventron Corporation

This evaluation report by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

addresses a class of employees proposed for addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) per the 

Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 

§ 7384 et seq. (EEOICPA) and 42 C.F.R. pt. 83, Procedures for Designating Classes of Employees as 

Members of the Special Exposure Cohort under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness 

Compensation Program Act of 2000. 

Petitioner-Requested Class Definition

Petition SEC-00198 was received on December 5, 2011, and qualified on January 20, 2012. The 

petitioner requested that NIOSH consider the following class: All metallurgical operators and electric 

furnace operators who worked at Ventron Corporation in Beverly, Massachusetts, from January 1, 

1942 to December 31, 1948. 

Class Evaluated by NIOSH

Based on its preliminary research, NIOSH modified the petitioner-requested class. In the interest of 

conducting a comprehensive analysis, the categories of workers under evaluation were expanded to 

include all workers. To conform to EEOICPA rules, the class period start date was changed to August 

13, 1942, the official start date of the Manhattan Engineer District (MED). EEOICPA evaluations 

only cover time periods beginning on or after the MED start date. As a result of these two 

modifications, NIOSH evaluated the following revised class: All Atomic Weapons Employees who 

worked at the Ventron Corporation site in Beverly, Massachusetts, from August 13, 1942 through 

December 31, 1948 (See Section 3.0). 

NIOSH-Proposed Class(es) to be Added to the SEC 

Based on its full research of the class under evaluation, NIOSH has defined a single class of 

employees for which NIOSH cannot estimate radiation doses with sufficient accuracy. The NIOSHproposed class includes all Atomic Weapons Employees who worked for the Ventron Corporation at 

its facility in Beverly, Massachusetts, from November 1, 1942 through December 31, 1948 for a 

number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either solely under this 

employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more 

classes of employees included in the Special Exposure Cohort. The start date for the 

NIOSH-proposed class was changed to November 1, 1942 because NIOSH obtained documentation 

showing that the MED took over cognizance of weapons-related metal production at the site on that 

date. The inclusion of all workers in the class under evaluation was accepted because NIOSH found 

indications that an observed lack of available personnel and area monitoring data was not limited to 

Metallurgical Operators and Electric Furnace Operators working in the Foundry (See Section 3.0). 
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Feasibility of Dose Reconstruction

Per EEOICPA and 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(1), NIOSH has established that it does not have access to 

sufficient information to: (1) estimate the maximum radiation dose, for every type of cancer for which 

radiation doses are reconstructed, that could have been incurred in plausible circumstances by any 

member of the class; or (2) estimate radiation doses of members of the class more precisely than an 

estimate of maximum dose. Information available from the site profile and additional resources is not 

sufficient to document or estimate the maximum internal and external potential exposure to members 

of the evaluated class under plausible circumstances during the specified period. 

The NIOSH dose reconstruction feasibility findings are based on the following: 

• Principal sources of internal radiation for members of the proposed class included exposures to 

uranium contained in uranium oxides, uranium metal powder, uranium tetrafluoride, scrap 

uranium metal, thorium, and uranium progeny from ore-handling operations. The modes of 

exposure were inhalation and ingestion of uranium and its progeny during uranium metal 

fabrication and scrap recovery operations, including spontaneous uranium fires, as well as 

inhalation of thorium dusts. 

• NIOSH has not located documentation giving any indication of a routine internal personnel 

exposure monitoring program for the period under evaluation. The very limited internal 

monitoring and air sample data available to NIOSH are sparse and there is no evidence to indicate 

these data are representative of the most highly-exposed workers at the Ventron facility, or to 

indicate that the available sample results are representative of all workers. Without additional 

personnel radiation monitoring data representing the period from 1942 through 1948, NIOSH has 

insufficient information to appropriately characterize radioactive material intakes during Ventron 

operations. 

• Principal sources of external radiation for members of the proposed class included exposures to 

uranium during metal-handling operations, uranium progeny derived from naturally-occurring ores 

exhibiting a natural isotopic abundance, as well as thorium during commercial production of 

thoriated tungsten. 

• NIOSH has not located any indication of external personnel exposure monitoring for the period 

under evaluation. NIOSH’s research indicates personnel monitoring for external exposure to 

radiological materials was not performed. No records of any program for personnel external dose 

monitoring, or data that would be associated with such a program have been located. 

• NIOSH does not have access to sufficient personnel monitoring, workplace monitoring, or source 

term data to estimate unmonitored internal exposures for Ventron workers during the periods of 

refining and smelting operations from November 1, 1942 through December 31, 1948. 

• NIOSH has determined that adequate reconstruction of medical dose is feasible by using claimantfavorable assumptions and the technical information bulletin Dose Reconstruction from 

Occupational Medical X-Ray Procedures (ORAUT-OTIB-0006). 
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• Pursuant to 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(1), NIOSH determined that there is insufficient information to 

either: (1) estimate the maximum radiation dose, for every type of cancer for which radiation 

doses are reconstructed, that could have been incurred under plausible circumstances by any 

member of the class; or (2) estimate the radiation doses of members of the class more precisely 

than a maximum dose estimate.

• Although NIOSH found that it is not possible to completely reconstruct radiation doses for the 

proposed class, NIOSH intends to use any internal and external monitoring data that may become 

available for an individual claim (and that can be interpreted using existing NIOSH dose 

reconstruction processes or procedures). Therefore, dose reconstructions for individuals employed 

at Ventron Corporation during the period from November 1, 1942 through December 31, 1948, 

but who do not qualify for inclusion in the SEC, may be performed using these data as 

appropriate. 

Health Endangerment Determination

Per EEOICPA and 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(3), a health endangerment determination is required because 

NIOSH has determined that it does not have sufficient information to estimate dose for the members 

of the proposed class. 

NIOSH did not identify any evidence supplied by the petitioners or from other resources that would 

establish that the proposed class was exposed to radiation during a discrete incident likely to have 

involved exceptionally high-level exposures. However, evidence indicates that some workers in the 

proposed class may have accumulated substantial chronic exposures through episodic intakes of 

radionuclides, combined with external exposures to gamma, beta, and neutron radiation. 

Consequently, NIOSH has determined that health was endangered for those workers covered by this 

evaluation who were employed for at least 250 aggregated work days either solely under this 

employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more 

other SEC classes. 
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Table of Contents

1.0 Purpose and Scope .......................................................................................................................... 9

2.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 9

3.0 SEC-00198, Ventron Corporation Class Definitions ................................................................... 10

3.1 Petitioner-Requested Class Definition and Basis ................................................................ 10

3.2 Class Evaluated by NIOSH ................................................................................................. 11

3.3 NIOSH-Proposed Class(es) to be Added to the SEC .......................................................... 11

4.0 Data Sources Reviewed by NIOSH to Evaluate the Class ........................................................... 12

4.1 Site Profile Technical Basis Documents (TBDs) ................................................................ 12

4.2 ORAU Technical Information Bulletins (OTIBs) and Procedures ..................................... 12

4.3 Facility Employees and Experts .......................................................................................... 13

4.4 Previous Dose Reconstructions ........................................................................................... 13

4.5 NIOSH Site Research Database .......................................................................................... 14

4.6 Documentation and/or Affidavits Provided by Petitioners ................................................. 14

5.0 Radiological Operations Relevant to the Class Evaluated by NIOSH ......................................... 14

5.1 Ventron Corporation Plant and Process Descriptions ......................................................... 14

5.2 Radiological Exposure Sources from Ventron Operations ................................................. 20

5.2.1 Internal Radiological Exposure Sources from Ventron Operations ........................ 20

5.2.2 External Radiological Exposure Sources from Ventron Operations ....................... 21

5.2.2.1 Photon ....................................................................................................... 21

5.2.2.2 Beta ........................................................................................................... 23

5.2.2.3 Neutron ..................................................................................................... 24

5.2.3 Incidents .................................................................................................................. 24

6.0 Summary of Available Monitoring Data for the Class Evaluated by NIOSH ............................. 25

6.1 Available Ventron Internal Monitoring Data ...................................................................... 25

6.2 Available Ventron External Monitoring Data ..................................................................... 27

7.0 Feasibility of Dose Reconstruction for the Class Evaluated by NIOSH ...................................... 29

7.1 Pedigree of Ventron Data .................................................................................................... 30

7.1.1 Internal Monitoring Data Pedigree Review ............................................................. 30

7.1.2 External Monitoring Data Pedigree Review ............................................................ 31

7.2 Evaluation of Bounding Internal Radiation Doses at Ventron ............................................ 31

7.2.1 Evaluation of Bounding Process-Related Internal Doses ........................................ 31

7.2.1.1 Urinalysis Information and Available Data .............................................. 32

7.2.1.2 Airborne Levels ........................................................................................ 32

7.2.2 Methods for Bounding Operational Period Internal Dose at Ventron ..................... 32

7.2.3 Internal Dose Reconstruction Feasibility Conclusion ............................................. 33

7.3 Evaluation of Bounding External Radiation Doses at Ventron ........................................... 34

7.3.1 Evaluation of Bounding Process-Related External Doses ....................................... 34

7.3.2 Ventron Occupational X-Ray Examinations ........................................................... 34
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7.3.3 Methods for Bounding Operational Period External Dose at Ventron .................... 35

7.3.4 External Dose Reconstruction Feasibility Conclusion ............................................ 36

7.4 Evaluation of Petition Basis for SEC-00198 ....................................................................... 36

7.5 Summary of Feasibility Findings for Petition SEC-00198 .................................................. 37

8.0 Evaluation of Health Endangerment for Petition SEC-00198 ...................................................... 38

9.0 Class Conclusion for Petition SEC-00198 ................................................................................... 38

10.0 References .................................................................................................................................... 41

Attachment 1: Data Capture Synopsis ................................................................................................... 47

Figure 

5-1: Buildings on the Ventron Corporation Site .................................................................................... 15

Tables 

4-1: No. of Ventron Claims Submitted Under the Dose Reconstruction Rule ...................................... 13

5-1: Beta and Gamma Emissions of Primary Interest ........................................................................... 22

6-1: Available Uranium Air Sample Results for the Ventron Operational Period ................................ 26

6-2: Available Area Survey Results for the Ventron Operational Period ............................................. 27

6-3: Available Area Survey Results for the Ventron Operational Period ............................................. 28

7-1: Summary of Feasibility Findings for SEC-00198 .......................................................................... 37
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SEC Petition Evaluation Report for SEC-00198

ATTRIBUTION AND ANNOTATION: This is a single-author document. All conclusions drawn from 

the data presented in this evaluation were made by the ORAU Team Lead Technical Evaluator: Jason 

Davis, Oak Ridge Associated Universities. The rationales for all conclusions in this document are 

explained in the associated text.

1.0 Purpose and Scope

This report evaluates the feasibility of reconstructing doses for all Atomic Weapons Employees who 

worked at the Ventron Corporation site in Beverly, Massachusetts, from August 13, 1942 through 

December 31, 1948. It provides information and analyses germane to considering a petition for 

adding a class of employees to the congressionally-created SEC. 

This report does not make any determinations concerning the feasibility of dose reconstruction that 

necessarily apply to any individual energy employee who might require a dose reconstruction from 

NIOSH. This report also does not contain the final determination as to whether the proposed class 

will be added to the SEC (see Section 2.0). 

This evaluation was conducted in accordance with the requirements of EEOICPA, 42 C.F.R. pt. 83, 

and the guidance contained in the Division of Compensation Analysis and Support’s (DCAS) Internal 

Procedures for the Evaluation of Special Exposure Cohort Petitions, DCAS-PR-004.1

2.0 Introduction 

Both EEOICPA and 42 C.F.R. pt. 83 require NIOSH to evaluate qualified petitions requesting that the 

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) add a class of employees to the SEC. The 

evaluation is intended to provide a fair, science-based determination of whether it is feasible to 

estimate with sufficient accuracy the radiation doses of the class of employees through NIOSH dose 

reconstructions.2 

42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(1) states: Radiation doses can be estimated with sufficient accuracy if NIOSH 

has established that it has access to sufficient information to estimate the maximum radiation dose, 

for every type of cancer for which radiation doses are reconstructed, that could have been incurred in 

plausible circumstances by any member of the class, or if NIOSH has established that it has access to 

sufficient information to estimate the radiation doses of members of the class more precisely than an 

estimate of the maximum radiation dose.

 

Under 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(3), if it is not feasible to estimate with sufficient accuracy radiation doses 

for members of the class, then NIOSH must determine that there is a reasonable likelihood that such 

radiation doses may have endangered the health of members of the class. The regulation requires 

 

1 DCAS was formerly known as the Office of Compensation Analysis and Support (OCAS). 2 NIOSH dose reconstructions under EEOICPA are performed using the methods promulgated under 42 C.F.R. pt. 82 and 

the detailed implementation guidelines available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas.
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NIOSH to assume that any duration of unprotected exposure may have endangered the health of 

members of a class when it has been established that the class may have been exposed to radiation 

during a discrete incident likely to have involved levels of exposure similarly high to those occurring 

during nuclear criticality incidents. If the occurrence of such an exceptionally high-level exposure has 

not been established, then NIOSH is required to specify that health was endangered for those workers 

who were employed for at least 250 aggregated work days within the parameters established for the 

class or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other SEC 

classes. 

NIOSH is required to document its evaluation in a report, and to do so, relies upon both its own dose 

reconstruction expertise as well as technical support from its contractor, Oak Ridge Associated 

Universities (ORAU). Once completed, NIOSH provides the report to both the petitioner(s) and the 

Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health (Board). The Board will consider the NIOSH 

evaluation report, together with the petition, petitioner(s) comments, and other information the Board 

considers appropriate, in order to make recommendations to the Secretary of HHS on whether or not 

to add one or more classes of employees to the SEC. Once NIOSH has received and considered the 

advice of the Board, the Director of NIOSH will propose a decision on behalf of HHS. The Secretary 

of HHS will make the final decision, taking into account the NIOSH evaluation, the advice of the 

Board, and the proposed decision issued by NIOSH. As part of this decision process, petitioners may 

seek a review of certain types of final decisions issued by the Secretary of HHS.

3

 

3.0 SEC-00198, Ventron Corporation Class Definitions 

The following subsections address the evolution of the class definition for SEC-00198, Ventron 

Corporation. When a petition is submitted, the requested class definition is reviewed as submitted. 

Based on its review of the available site information and data, NIOSH will make a determination 

whether to qualify for full evaluation all, some, or no part of the petitioner-requested class. If some 

portion of the petitioner-requested class is qualified, NIOSH will specify that class along with a 

justification for any modification of the petitioner’s class. After a full evaluation of the qualified 

class, NIOSH will determine whether to propose a class for addition to the SEC and will specify that 

proposed class definition. 

3.1 Petitioner-Requested Class Definition and Basis

Petition SEC-00198 was received on December 5, 2011, and qualified on January 20, 2012. The 

petitioner requested that NIOSH consider the following class: All metallurgical operators and electric 

furnace operators who worked at Ventron Corporation in Beverly, Massachusetts, from January 1, 

1942 to December 31, 1948. 

The petitioner provided information and affidavit statements in support of the petitioner’s belief that 

accurate dose reconstruction over time is impossible for the Ventron workers in question. NIOSH 

deemed the following information and affidavit statements sufficient to qualify SEC-00198 for 

evaluation: 

 

3 See 42 C.F.R. pt. 83 for a full description of the procedures summarized here. Additional internal procedures are 

available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas.
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In support of the claim, the SEC-00198 petitioner asserted that radiation exposures and radiation 

doses potentially incurred by members of the proposed class were not monitored, either through 

personal monitoring or through area monitoring. In the original petition, the petitioner provided 

the following statements:

• To the best of my knowledge, there was no monitoring at Ventron Corp. 

• To the best of my knowledge there was no internal monitoring at Ventron Corporation. 

• To the best of my knowledge there was no internal monitoring at Ventron Corporation and no 

records could be found. 

Based on its Ventron Corporation research and data capture efforts, NIOSH determined that it has 

access to limited process information, air sampling, area surveys, and internal dosimetry data for 

Ventron workers during the time period under evaluation. However, NIOSH also determined that 

internal and external monitoring, as well as air sampling and area survey records are not complete for 

all time periods or for all radionuclides. NIOSH concluded that there is sufficient documentation to 

support, for at least part of the requested time period, the petition basis that both internal and external 

radiation exposures and radiation doses were not adequately monitored at Ventron, either through 

personal monitoring or area monitoring. The information and statements provided by the petitioner 

qualified the petition for further consideration by NIOSH, the Board, and HHS. The details of the 

petition basis are addressed in Section 7.4. 

3.2 Class Evaluated by NIOSH

Based on its preliminary research, NIOSH modified the petitioner-requested class. In the interest of 

conducting a comprehensive analysis, the categories of workers under evaluation were expanded to 

include all workers. To conform to EEOICPA rules, the class period start date was changed to August 

13, 1942, the official start date of the Manhattan Engineer District (MED). EEOICPA evaluations 

only cover time periods beginning on or after the MED start date. As a result of these two 

modifications, NIOSH evaluated the following revised class: All Atomic Weapons Employees who 

worked at the Ventron Corporation site in Beverly, Massachusetts, from August 13, 1942 through 

December 31, 1948. 

3.3 NIOSH-Proposed Class(es) to be Added to the SEC

Based on its research of the class under evaluation, NIOSH has defined a single class of employees for 

which NIOSH cannot estimate radiation doses with sufficient accuracy. The NIOSH-proposed class 

to be added to the SEC includes all Atomic Weapons Employees who worked for the Ventron 

Corporation at its facility in Beverly, Massachusetts, from November 1, 1942 through December 31, 

1948 for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either solely under this 

employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more 

classes of employees included in the Special Exposure Cohort. The start date for the 

NIOSH-proposed class was changed to November 1, 1942 because NIOSH obtained documentation 

showing that the MED took over cognizance of weapons-related metal production at the site on that 

date (Authority Review, 1985, pdf pp. 3-7). The inclusion of all workers in the class under evaluation 
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was accepted because NIOSH found indications that an observed lack of available personnel and area 

monitoring data was not limited to Metallurgical Operators and Electric Furnace Operators working in 

the Foundry. 

4.0 Data Sources Reviewed by NIOSH to Evaluate the Class

As is standard practice, NIOSH completed an extensive database and Internet search for information 

regarding Ventron Corporation. The database search included the DOE Legacy Management 

Considered Sites database, the DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) database, 

the Energy Citations database, and the Hanford Declassified Document Retrieval System. In addition 

to general Internet searches, the NIOSH Internet search included OSTI OpenNet Advanced searches, 

OSTI Information Bridge Fielded searches, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Agency-wide 

Documents Access and Management (ADAMS) web searches, the DOE Office of Human Radiation 

Experiments website, and the DOE-National Nuclear Security Administration-Nevada Site Officesearch. Attachment 1 contains a summary of Ventron Corporation documents. The summary 

specifically identifies data capture details and general descriptions of the documents retrieved.

In addition to the database and Internet searches listed above, NIOSH identified and reviewed 

numerous data sources to determine information relevant to determining the feasibility of dose 

reconstruction for the class of employees under evaluation. This included determining the availability 

of information on personal monitoring, area monitoring, industrial processes, and radiation source 

materials. The following subsections summarize the data sources identified and reviewed by NIOSH. 

4.1 Site Profile Technical Basis Documents (TBDs) 

A Site Profile provides specific information concerning the documentation of historical practices at 

the specified site. Dose reconstructors can use the Site Profile to evaluate internal and external 

dosimetry data for monitored and unmonitored workers, and to supplement, or substitute for, 

individual monitoring data. A Site Profile consists of an Introduction and five Technical Basis 

Documents (TBDs) that provide process history information, information on personal and area 

monitoring, radiation source descriptions, and references to primary documents relevant to the 

radiological operations at the site. The Site Profile for a small site may consist of a single document. 

As part of NIOSH’s evaluation detailed herein, it examined the following TBDs for insights into 

Ventron operations or related topics/operations at other sites: 

• Site Profiles for Atomic Weapons Employers that Worked Uranium and Thorium Metals, BattelleTBD-6000; Rev. 1; June 17, 2011; SRDB Ref ID: 30671 

4.2 ORAU Technical Information Bulletins (OTIBs) and Procedures

An ORAU Technical Information Bulletin (OTIB) is a general working document that provides 

guidance for preparing dose reconstructions at particular sites or categories of sites. An ORAU 

Procedure provides specific requirements and guidance regarding EEOICPA project-level activities, 

including preparation of dose reconstructions at particular sites or categories of sites. 
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NIOSH reviewed the following OTIBs as part of its evaluation: 

• Estimation of Ingestion Intakes, OCAS-TIB-009, Rev. 0, NIOSH Office of Compensation 

Analysis and Support; April 13, 2004; SRDB Ref ID: 22397 

• Dose Reconstruction from Occupational Medical X-Ray Procedures, ORAUT-OTIB-0006, Rev. 

4; Oak Ridge Associated Universities; June 20, 2011; SRDB Ref ID: 98147

• Guidance on Assigning Occupational X-Ray Dose Under EEOICPA for X-rays Administered Off 

Site, ORAUT-OTIB-0079, Rev. 00; Oak Ridge Associated Universities; January 3, 2011; SRDB 

Ref ID: 89563

4.3 Facility Employees and Experts

To obtain additional information, NIOSH attempted to locate and interview former Ventron 

employees who worked during the 1942 through 1948 timeframe. No living employees meeting this 

criterion could be located.

4.4 Previous Dose Reconstructions

NIOSH reviewed its NIOSH DCAS Claims Tracking System (referred to as NOCTS) to locate

EEOICPA-related dose reconstructions that might provide information relevant to the petition 

evaluation. Table 4-1 summarizes the results of this review. (NOCTS data available as of June 4, 

2012). 

Table 4-1: No. of Ventron Claims Submitted Under the Dose Reconstruction Rule

Description Totals

Total number of claims submitted for dose reconstruction 19

Total number of claims submitted for energy employees who worked during the period under 

evaluation (August 13, 1942 through December 31, 1948). 9

Number of dose reconstructions completed for energy employees who worked during the period

under evaluation (i.e., the number of such claims completed by NIOSH and submitted to the 

Department of Labor for final approval). 9

Number of claims for which internal dosimetry records were obtained for the identified years in the 

evaluated class definition 0

Number of claims for which external dosimetry records were obtained for the identified years in the 

evaluated class definition 0

NIOSH reviewed each claim to determine whether internal and/or external personal monitoring 

records could be obtained for the employee. As noted in Table 4-1, NIOSH has not received external 

or internal monitoring data from Ventron Corporation for any claimants. 
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4.5 NIOSH Site Research Database

NIOSH also examined its Site Research Database (SRDB) to locate documents supporting the 

assessment of the evaluated class. Three-hundred and eighty three (383) documents in this database 

were identified as pertaining to Ventron. These documents were evaluated for their relevance to this 

petition. The documents include historical background on facility operations and medical surveillance 

as well as limited results of air and surface contamination sampling. 

4.6 Documentation and/or Affidavits Provided by Petitioners

In qualifying and evaluating the petition, NIOSH reviewed the following document submitted by the 

petitioners:

• Affidavit from [Survivor name redacted]; December 5, 2011; DSA Ref ID: 115418

5.0 Radiological Operations Relevant to the Class Evaluated by 

NIOSH

The following subsections summarize both radiological operations at the Ventron Corporation site 

from August 13, 1942 through December 1948 and the information available to NIOSH to 

characterize particular processes and radioactive source materials. From available sources NIOSH has 

gathered process and source descriptions, information regarding the identity of each radionuclide of 

concern, and information describing processes through which radiation exposures may have occurred 

and the physical environment in which they may have occurred. The information included within this 

evaluation report is intended only to be a summary of the available information. 

5.1 Ventron Corporation Plant and Process Descriptions 

Plant History and Description 

The Ventron Corporation site is located in Beverly, Massachusetts. The site occupies three acres on 

Massachusetts Bay at the confluence of the Bass and Danvers rivers. The property is bordered by 

Congress Street on the north, the Boston and Maine Railroad on the east, the Bass River on the west, 

and the Danvers River on the south. A seawall composed primarily of granite boulders surrounds the 

property along the Danvers and Bass River boundaries. The western and southern boundaries of the 

property extend beyond the seawall to the low tide mark of the adjacent harbor. Figure 5-1 shows the 

buildings on the Ventron site. 
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Source: Noey, 1987 Figure 5-1: Buildings on the Ventron Corporation Site

Metal Hydrides, Inc. (predecessor of the Ventron Corporation), was incorporated on June 16, 1933, 

and began research and development operations to develop the process of reducing uranium oxide to 

metal using calcium hydride in space rented from General Electric, Thomson Research Laboratory, 

Lynn, Massachusetts. In 1965, Metal Hydrides Corporation became the Ventron Corporation. In 

1976, the Ventron Corporation was acquired by the Thiokol Corporation, which became a division of 

Morton Thiokol, Inc., in 1980, and was subsequently renamed Morton International in 1990. In 1994, 

Morton production activity at the Ventron site ceased. 

Although NIOSH does not have access to a concise employee roster for the time period under 

evaluation, workforce data can be distilled from personnel medical records and chest radiographs 

compiled during that time. NIOSH has access to employee medical records files for 254 individuals 

(Monitoring Results, 1942-1947; Monitoring Results, 1942-1945; Monitoring Results, 1943-1945). 

These records span 1942-1947 and contain worker names and job descriptions. In most cases, hire 

and termination dates are also recorded. A log of pre-employment and follow-up chest X-rays 

performed between November 1942 and November 1943 suggests that the workforce was around 107 

individuals for that one-year span (Monitoring Results, 1943-1945, pdf p. 1430). NIOSH believes this 

presents a reasonable estimate of the workforce during this time period because the MED requirement 

for all workers at Metal Hydrides to have a pre-employment chest X-ray was communicated in May 

1943 along with direction that any individuals who had not received a chest X-ray prior to that time 

should receive one at the earliest possible date (Friedell, 1943). The scrap re-casting operations were 

observed to have employed 16 individuals in 1947 (Randall, 1947).
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Metal Hydrides is one of only two companies known to have produced developmental (gram) 

quantities of uranium metal under two contracts for the National Bureau of Standards. Some of these 

gram quantities of metal were provided to Columbia University which later, in an OSRD subcontract 

dated December 31, 1941, agreed to supply Metal Hydrides with five furnaces at the Beverly, 

Massachusetts location in return for metal produced. In total, approximately two pounds of material 

were produced under these contracts (Adams, 1994). On April 20, 1942, OSRD contracted directly 

with Metal Hydrides to install government-owned equipment and to begin large-scale production of 

uranium metal (Authority Review, 1985, pdf p. 211). Under this contract (OEMsr-333), 7,460 pounds 

of uranium metal were produced. 

The MED was officially established on August 13, 1942 and on November 1, 1942, the MED took 

over cognizance of OSRD metal production at Metal Hydrides with a direct contract W-7405-Eng-8 

(Authority Review, 1985, pdf pp. 3-7). From 1942 to 1948, the Metal Hydrides Corporation 

conducted uranium-processing operations under contract to the MED and its successor agency, the 

Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). MED/AEC contract operations at the Ventron site involved 

conversion of uranium oxide to uranium metal powder using calcium hydride (Ventron, 1979). In a 

process used later at the facility, uranium oxide was reacted with hydrogen fluoride to produce 

uranium tetrafluoride, which was mixed with magnesium and heated to produce uranium metal 

(Cottrell, 1988). Other operations at the site from 1943 to December 31, 1947 included recovery of 

uranium from scrap and turnings resulting from operations at a fuel fabrication plant in Hanford, 

Washington. MED/AEC contract work at Ventron involved only natural uranium; no depleted or 

enriched uranium was processed.

The contract was modified and extended to June 1947 with 19 supplemental agreements. 

Supplemental Agreement No. 3 did not extend metal production past August 31, 1943. The company 

maintained the metal production portion of the plant on standby and focused its efforts on recasting 

scrap uranium metal.

The MED sampled the uranium content of the Metal Hydrides facility grounds in 1943 and found that 

it contained 0.1 percent to 79 percent uranium oxide. A January 1, 1944 accountability report 

indicates that the MED advised Metal Hydrides management on environmental matters and 

maintained its rights to the uranium-contaminated soil on the Metal Hydrides property. Most of this 

soil (120,000 pounds) was removed from the yard after the company signed a release on portions of 

the contract dealing with metal production (Cottrell, 1988). This material was subsequently shipped 

to DuPont Chemical Company Recovery Plant for recovery of the uranium (Adams, 1994). 

In addition, a 1946 memo indicates that Ventron had been manufacturing thorium powder at the rate 

of pounds per month for use in thoriated tungsten filaments for radio tubes produced by Sylvania, 

Raytheon, and RCA (Morse, 1946). 

A lump-sum research and development contract (AT-30-1-GEN-143) to produce a controllable source 

of neutrons for the AEC was awarded to the company on June 1, 1947. The contract was limited to 

100 pounds of high-grade pitchblende ore (Authority Review, 1985, pdf p. 6). Other documentation 

indicates that an AEC contract to produce 2,000 pounds of uranium powder was put into place as late 

as 1948 (Authority Review, 1985, pdf p. 6). This contract would have been to produce metal powder 

using brown oxide and calcium hydride similar to other earlier contracts (Hayden, 1948). 
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During MED/AEC operations, three buildings were used for uranium work. Building A was used for 

uranium-processing activities and contains one main floor and a basement. On the first floor, there 

were offices and laboratories on the east side of the building, and shipping and receiving areas in the 

northwest quadrant. Crushing, leaching, and retorting processes were carried out in Room 20 of 

Building A (Cottrell, 1988). 

Building A-1 was an addition to Building A and contained facilities for the production of distilled 

calcium (Room 6) and the drying of uranium oxide powder (Room 4), a machine shop, and electric 

furnaces and kilns. Two wooden buildings just south of Building A contained the machine shop and 

foundry. These buildings were demolished sometime between 1948 and 1950 (Ventron, 1979). 

Buildings C-1, C-2, C-3, and C-4 were built in 1945 and consist of analytical laboratories. Buildings 

B-1, B-2, and B-3 were built in 1950, partially on top of the footprint of the former machine shop. 

Building D, built in 1967, was used for research and development of biocides. The Alfa Building, 

built in 1953, was used for thorium crystal-growing and other research-related activities. None of 

these facilities were used for MED/AEC processing of uranium (Cottrell, 1988). 

Following the MED/AEC activities, the site was decontaminated to clean-up standards applicable for 

that time. The AEC conducted a radiation survey in 1947, after which the Medical Division 

recommended the following procedures for site clean-up (Ventron, 1982):

1. Have Metal Hydride employees do the dismantling and cleanup in order to avoid possible 

difficulties arising from contractor's men working with active materials.

2. Divide the material into four groups. 

a. Send the metal and equipment desired by the Vitro Manufacturing Company to them with a 

clear understanding that it is contaminated and that they will accept responsibility for it as 

such. 

b. Allow Metal Hydrides to accept contaminated apparatus which has been cleaned as well 

as possible, on their responsibility, for use in other AEC work. 

c. Valuable but contaminated equipment which cannot be cleaned and is not wanted by Metal 

Hydrides or Vitro be accepted by the AEC for storage until a demand arises where the 

contamination is not a controlling factor. 

d. Scrap materials should be kept from the public. The pipes, ducts, conduit, concrete blocks, 

etc. should be piled on the bank of the bay until it is all accumulated, then taken by barge 

to a chosen spot in the ocean about 12 miles from shore and dumped. Scrap material 

which will not sink should be burned in an isolated spot, the ashes placed in a container 

and dumped with the other material. 

3. The area should be vacuum cleaned, hosed down, and scrubbed with a detergent. 

4. Another survey at the completion of this work should determine any other steps to be taken 

toward decontamination of the area. 
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A second survey was completed in early 1948 after the contaminated equipment had been removed; 

the levels inside the main building (metal plant) were lower than the earlier survey (Ventron, 1982). 

It was initially believed that all AEC work was terminated in 1948; however, documentation suggests 

that AEC contracts were ongoing into 1954. These contracts included a research contract to work 

with fissionable material that was to terminate in June 1954, and a lump-sum production contract 

(AT-(30-1)-1350) to terminate in July 1954 (Authority Review, 1985; Banus, 1953; Hayden, 1948). 

No records pertaining to close-out of these contracts have been found to date (Ventron, 1982). A 

1953 report of research issuances of special material suggests that, in addition to uranium metal and 

uranium oxides, thorium metal and thorium tetrafluoride were in the Ventron inventory during this 

time period (Alexander, 1953). 

Radiological surveys of the land and buildings were conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

(ORNL) in 1977 and 1980-82. In 1986, the Ventron site was designated for inclusion in the Formerly 

Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). Additional radiological surveys of the site were 

performed by ORNL in 1987-88, and in 1991 surveys were performed of properties in the vicinity of 

the site to determine if radiological contamination from plant operations had migrated off site. Further 

characterization of radiological and chemical conditions at the site was performed by Bechtel 

National, Incorporated (BNI) for DOE in 1992. In 1996, DOE and Morton International finalized a 

Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) regarding the allocation of clean-up responsibilities between the 

parties at the site. DOE radiological decontamination of the site concluded in 1997 (Certification, 

2003; Post-Remedial Report, 2003). 

“Hydramet” Process Description

Metal Hydrides’ hydride or “hydramet” process used calcium hydride, CaH2, as the reducing agent for 

the ore-to-metal conversion. The raw material for the process was uranium ore. In contrast, the Ames 

Laboratory process in use during the same time period relied on the reduction of uranium tetrafluoride 

by the addition of granulated calcium metal (Ames, 1947). In 1940-41, the uranium ore uranitite was 

supplied by the Canadian Radium and Uranium Corporation of New York. Their source was a mine 

owned by Eldorado Gold Mines, Ltd., located on the shores of Great Bear Lake in the Canadian 

Northwest Territories. Some five hundred pounds of metal was produced using the raw black oxide 

(Alexander, post-1942). However, because the raw black ore was a mixture of UO2 and UO3 along 

with other metal and metallic-oxide impurities, the resulting uranium was of insufficient purity to 

sustain a successful fission chain reaction. The neutron-absorbing impurities had to be removed 

before pure uranium production could begin (Adams, 1994). 

The ore was sent to the Mallinckrodt Chemical Company in St. Louis where the uranium ore was 

purified and chemically converted to the “brown oxide” UO2. During 1942, the brown oxide was 

delivered by truck to the Beverly plant and subjected to the hydramet process. The oxide was mixed 

with calcium hydride in a grinder with an exhaust vent that evacuated to the outside of the building by 

a three-horsepower fan (Hayden, 1948). This mixture was then heated in an evacuated steel alloy 

retort at 960o C in an oil-fired furnace for 6-7 hours (Adams, 1994). 

The product mixture was then chipped into pieces using an air hammer under a hood of unknown 

efficiency (Hayden, 1948) and dumped into a leaching tank containing distilled water and acetic acid 

to neutralize the CaO, thus bringing it into the aqueous solution. After filtering the pure uranium 
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powder on a rack filter, it was manually scraped onto stainless steel trays to dry. Initially, the trays 

were placed in the open air to dry. However, due to recurring uranium fires, the process was modified 

so that drying occurred in an inert argon atmosphere. The purified uranium powder was then placed 

in one-quart metal containers, each holding six pounds of metal in argon (Adams, 1994). 

The containers would then be transported to MIT in nearby Cambridge, where the powder was 

compressed into lumps one-inch square by 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 inches thick. These lumps would be returned to 

Metal Hydrides where they were sintered into bricks at approximately 1500 o C before being sent to 

the University of Chicago for use in CP-1 (Adams, 1994). 

At the University of Iowa in August 1942, Dr. Frank Spedding used calcium produced at Metal 

Hydrides to reduce UF4 to pure uranium metal. The reaction heat was sufficient to melt both 

products, with the more dense uranium settling to the bottom of the reaction vessel and solidifying 

upon cooling. Because the Iowa process was rapid and yielded uranium metal in solid ingot form, it 

was used to supply the pure metal for the remainder of the Manhattan Project. In July 1943, Metal 

Hydrides was notified to stop production of uranium metal powders by September 1. The company 

was asked to keep the foundry operational to recast scrap metal and to leave the remaining equipment 

in standby condition (Ruhoff, 1943). Metal Hydrides shifted operations from production of uranium 

powder to recasting up to 500-1000 pounds of the pure metal per day into solid cylindrical ingots. 

During the time period of metal production, Ventron weekly reports indicate that a maximum weekly 

average of 350 lbs. of cast metal was produced per day (Weekly Reports, 1942-1946). Weekly reports 

also track the stocks of ore on-hand during the December 1942 through September 1943 time period 

(Production Reports, 1942-1943). 

Scrap Casting Process Description

Beginning in the summer of 1943, Metal Hydrides received shipments of the “heels” (unusable end 

portions) remaining from the fabrication of uranium slugs (one-inch by four-inch cylinders of uranium 

in aluminum cans used for reactor fuel) from both the Hanford, Washington and Oak Ridge, 

Tennessee laboratories. Metal Hydrides also received shavings from the Iowa process that were 

melted and recast (Adams, 1994). Scrap uranium metal was received at the plant in wooden boxes 

that were stored in the machine shop until ready for use. Pieces of scrap were hand-weighed and 

divided into charges of 150-175 pounds. Each charge was hand-carried to the recasting furnaces 

(Roboff, 1945). 

The casting furnace fundamentally consisted of two parts: a graphite crucible to hold the crude metal, 

and a graphite mold to form the billet from the molten metal. The crude materiel was placed in the 

crucible that fit over the mold. The entire system was insulated and completely surrounded by a 

quartz shield that was sealed to permit evacuation of the system within it. The crucible mold and 

other parts of the system were completely evacuated before heating the metal. The actual heating was 

produced by a high-frequency coil surrounding the quartz shield. The crude uranium metal in the 

crucible was heated to a temperature of approximately l,250 C, after which a stopper rod at the bottom 

of the crucible was removed, permitting the molten metal to flow into the mold. After pouring, the 

mold was cooled to such a temperature that the billet could be removed safely. The billet was then 

cropped to remove the porous section at the top which usually contained a high percentage of oxide 

and impurities (Gates, 1946, pdf p. 69). 
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The resulting billet was again manually weighed before workers removed an egg, a laboratory sample, 

and cropped the billet to the appropriate size by use of a power saw. Any scraps or sawdust resulting 

from these cutting operations were added to the scrap charges for re-melting, while any oxides that 

formed during casting were collected and sent to the Hanford Recovery Plant (Roboff, 1945). After 

cropping and packing, the billets were shipped to the DuPont Chemical Company in Hanford and Oak 

Ridge for further treatment and processing (Adams, 1994). This work continued until December 31, 

1947 when Contract W-7405 ENG 8 expired (Ventron, 1979). During the scrap re-casting years, 

3,000 – 3,200 lbs of metal were handled per day (Randall, 1947). It is unclear how much material was 

stored on site during this time period.

5.2 Radiological Exposure Sources from Ventron Operations

MED-related activities at the Ventron site conducted between November 1, 1942 and 1947 were 

limited to the use of uranium. Morton was licensed to handle uranium ore before and after the MEDrelated activities, which allows for the possibility of radium contamination of the buildings and 

facilities during the AWE operations period. However, significantly larger quantities of uranium 

appear to have been used for the MED-related activities. MED-related activities did not reference 

thorium material; however, Morton was licensed to handle thorium following the MED-related 

activities. In addition, a 1946 memo indicates that Ventron had also been involved in non-AEC 

manufacturing of thorium powder at the rate of pounds per month for use in thoriated tungsten 

filaments for radio tubes produced by Sylvania, Raytheon, and RCA (Morse, 1946). Neither the MED 

nor Morton licenses/contracts referenced radium as a source material used at the site. Radium 

residuals at the site may have occurred as a result of radium being: (1) a byproduct of ore concentrates 

used prior to MED-related activities; (2) a byproduct of significant quantities of oxides used during 

the MED processes; (3) a byproduct of pitchblende ore and oxides used after MED processes; or (4) 

less significantly, a decay product from any natural uranium used by Morton (DOE, 1995).

The following subsections provide an overview of the internal and external exposure sources for the 

Ventron class under evaluation.

5.2.1 Internal Radiological Exposure Sources from Ventron Operations

The primary source of internal radiological exposure resulting from Ventron operations during the 

AWE period was inhalation and/or ingestion of uranium and thorium radionuclides. Uranium was 

present at Ventron as a solid metal and in various uranium compounds, uranium tetrafluoride, uranium 

dioxide powder, and uranium ore. Exposure to uranium posed a potential internal exposure hazard. 

Documentation indicates that that the uranium tetrafluoride received at Ventron was derived solely 

from naturally-occurring ores (DOE, 1992). Natural uranium refers to uranium consisting of 

approximately 0.7% U-235, 99.3% U-238, and a very small residual amount of U-234, by weight. In 

terms of radioactivity, natural uranium contains approximately equal percentages of U-238 (48.6%) 

and U-234 (49.2%). These radionuclides emit alpha particles with primary emission energies of 4.20 

MeV and 4.15 MeV (U-238), and 4.77 MeV and 4.72 MeV (U-234) (Rad Health, 1970). The 

radioactivity contribution from U-235 is much smaller (approximately 2.2%) relative to U-238 or 

U-234. U-235 emits alpha particles with energies of 4.40 MeV and 4.37 MeV. 
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Other alpha-emitting radionuclides, including radon and progeny, occur naturally as part of the U-238 

decay process. Radon and radon progeny would have been produced on site during the AWE period 

from:

• uranium ore contamination remaining on site from pre-AWE period work (1940 through 1942). 

• on-site use of high-grade pitchblende ores to complete a MED contract beginning in mid-1947. 

In addition, although it appears that thorium was processed for commercial use, workers may have 

been exposed to thorium during their AEC-related tasks. Thorium-232 is the parent radionuclide in 

the thorium series. Thorium-232 decays by alpha emission into Ra-228, emitting two primary alpha 

particles of 3.95 MeV (24% abundance) and 4.01 MeV (76% abundance). The natural thorium decay 

series includes six progeny that emit alpha particles with energies ranging from 5.34 MeV to 8.78 

MeV.

5.2.2 External Radiological Exposure Sources from Ventron Operations

Based on information and documentation available to NIOSH, the potential for external radiation 

doses from uranium and uranium decay products existed at the Ventron site. The uranium was solely 

derived from naturally-occurring ores, and thus exhibited a natural isotopic abundance. The following 

subsections provide an overview of the external exposure sources. In addition, although it appears 

that thorium was processed for commercial use, workers may have been exposed to thorium during 

their AEC-related tasks.

Natural uranium emits both beta particles (electrons) and photons (X-ray and gamma photons), as 

shown in Table 5-1. The two primordial components of natural uranium are U-238 and U-235, but 

some of their decay products grow into equilibrium quickly enough to contribute to worker exposures 

during metal processing.

5.2.2.1 Photon 

Uranium metal, uranium ore, and uranium tetrafluoride were handled by Ventron employees. 

External exposures to photon radiation would have resulted from the immediate daughter 

radionuclides in the uranium decay chain. The uranium progeny that result in the most significant 

photon exposures include Th-234 and Pa-234m (Rad Health, 1970). Note that these isotopes have 

relatively short half-lives and can be assumed to be in equilibrium with the parent U-238. Because of 

their short half-lives, the exposure potential from these isotopes would travel with the parent and will 

not be considered separately. Uranium-235 emits alpha particles and gamma photons in about 70% of 

its transitions, but occurs as 0.7200 atom percent in natural uranium. Photon emissions from uranium 

ore present during the period under evaluation would include emissions from uranium and uranium 

progeny (mainly Ra-226 and radium progeny). 

The majority of the photons from natural uranium metals and natural uranium ores are in the 30-250 

keV energy range (ORAUT-OTIB-0004). Uranium, present as a solid object, ore, or as chemical 

compounds provides considerable shielding of the lower-energy photons and will tend to harden the 

spectrum, causing the majority of photons emitted from uranium to have energies greater than 250 

keV. While it is recognized that solid uranium sources will have a hardened photon spectrum, 
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exposure to a thin layer of uranium on a surface will result in a larger fraction of exposure to lowerenergy photons (Battelle-TBD-6000). 

Thorium has a significant number of higher-energy photons in the Th-232 decay chain. Based on the 

half-lives of the progeny, only a partial equilibrium is possible; therefore, it is conservative to state 

that equilibrium would be reached in this decay chain. It has been assumed that Ra-228 and Th-228 

progeny were in equilibrium with Th-232. Under this assumption, the progeny are the major source 

of both penetrating and non-penetrating external exposure.

Table 5-1 lists the beta and gamma emissions of the radionuclides of major external exposure concern. 

Exposure to these photons was possible during the period under evaluation from direct radiation 

during ore-handling, metal-handling, and from submersion in contaminated air. 

Table 5-1: Beta and Gamma Emissions of Primary Interest

Radionuclide Beta Energy 

(MeV, max.)

Gamma Energy 

(MeV)

Uranium-238 None None

Thorium-234 0.10 (19%) 0.063 (3.5%)

0.193 (79%) 0.093 (4%)

Protactinium-234m 2.28 (99%) 0.766 (0.2%)

1.00 (0.6%)

Uranium-235 None

0.144 (11%)

0.163 (5%)

0.186 (54%)

0.205 (5%)

Thorium-231

0.205 (15%)

0.287 (49%) 0.026 (15%)

0.304 (35%) 0.084 (6.5%)

Uranium-234 None 0.053 (0.1%)

Thorium-230 None

0.0667 (0.37%)

0.142 (0.07%) 

0.144 (0.045%)

Radium-226 None 0.186 (3.28%)

Radon-222 None 0.510 (0.078%)

Polonium-218 0.33 (0.02%) 0.837 (0.0011%)

Lead-214

0.67 (48%) 0.2419 (7.5%)

0.73 (42.5%) 0.295 (19.2%)

1.03 (6.3 %) 0.352 (37.1%)

Astatine-218 None 0.786 (1.1%)

0.053 (6.6%)

Bismuth-214

1.42 (8.3%) 0.609 (46.1%)

1.505 (17.6%) 1.12 (15.0%)

1.54 (17.9%) 1.765 (15.9%)

3.27 (17.7%) 2.204 (5.0%)

Polonium-214 None 0.7997 (0.010%)

Thalium-210

1.32 (25%) 0.2918 (79.1%)

1.87 (56%) 0.7997 (99%)

2.34 (29%) 0.860 (6.9%)

1.110 (6.9%)

1.21 (17%)
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Table 5-1: Beta and Gamma Emissions of Primary Interest

Radionuclide Beta Energy 

(MeV, max.)

Gamma Energy 

(MeV)

Thalium-210 (cont.)

1.310 (21%)

1.410 (4.9%)

2.010 (6.9%)

Lead-210 0.016 (80%) 0.0465 (4%)

0.063 (20%)

Bismuth-210 1.161 (~100%) None

Polonium-210 None 0.802 (0.0011%)

Thalium-206 1.571 (100%) 0.803 (0.0055%)

Thorium-232 None 0.059 (0.19%)

0.126 (0.04%)

Radium-228 0.0389 (100%) 0.0067 (6 x 10-5%)

Actinium-228

0.983 (7%) 0.338 (11.4%)

1.014 (6.6%) 0.911 (27.7%)

1.115 (3.4%) 0.969 (16.6%)

1.17 (32%) 1.588 (3.5%)

1.74 (12%) -

2.08 (8%) -

(+33 more βs) -

Thorium-228 None

0.084 (1.19%)

0.132 (0.11%)

0.166 (0.08%)

0.216 (0.27%)

Bismuth-212

1.59 (8%) 0.040 (1%)

2.246 (48.4%) 0.727 (11.8%)

- 1.620 (2.75%)

Lead-208 None 2.614 (100%)

Source: Radiological Health Handbook, 1998. A more complete list for uranium and 

thorium progeny can be found in the referenced document.

5.2.2.2 Beta

Radiation fields from uranium are frequently dominated by contributions from daughter product 

radionuclides. For example, nearly all of the beta radiation field from depleted uranium comes from 

the daughter radionuclide Pa-234m, and to a lesser extent from Th-234. During melting and casting 

operations, these daughter elements may concentrate on the surface of the castings and equipment, 

producing beta radiation fields up to 20 rad per hour. 

Table 5-1 shows the principal beta emitters and their energies for the uranium and thorium present at 

Ventron. As indicated, there are a significant number of high-energy beta radiations that represent a 

shallow dose exposure concern for site workers. Workers who handled the uranium and thorium 

would have received shallow dose exposures. The primary exposure areas would have been the hands 

and forearms, the neck and face, and other areas of the body that might not have been covered. 
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5.2.2.3 Neutron 

There was a small potential for personnel neutron exposures from Ventron uranium operations. As 

described in Section 5.2.1, site personnel received and handled uranium tetrafluoride. Low-atomicnumber elements (such as fluorine) emit neutrons of approximately 2 MeV energy when struck by 

alpha particles (referred to as alpha-neutron [“α-n”] reactions). The intensity of the radiation field 

from these reactions increases as a function of the enrichment. Because only uranium with a natural 

isotopic ratio (or “natural enrichment”) was used at Ventron, the neutron radiation field was 

significantly lower than the gamma component; therefore, neutrons are not considered a significant 

exposure concern and are not addressed further in this evaluation. 

5.2.3 Incidents

NIOSH did not identify any documented accidents at Ventron that resulted in exceptionally-high 

personnel exposure levels (such as a criticality event). However, the pyrophoricity of the uranium 

metal, especially when in fine powder form, led to recurring fires in the early days of the process. 

Early attempts at storing the powdered metal underwater led to oxidation of the metal, the resulting 

heat of which was sufficient to ignite the metal even underwater. One report suggests that, over the 

course of multiple fires, several hundred pounds of material were lost through burning (Alexander, 

unknown date). 

This phenomenon was also noted in the settling basins outside the factory buildings. Brown oxide is 

not a uniform powder and cannot be ground to such in a ball mill. The oxide is composed of 

sub-micrometer diameter particles, intermediate–sized particles, and very large particles in the form of 

hollow spheres. During the acid-leaching process, the finer particles would become partially oxidized 

and were left suspended in the leaching liquid that was drained into the settling basins (Alexander, 

unknown date). According to a former area engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District, 

periodically, the fine uranium in the outside settling basin would catch fire. Initially, the water on top 

would bubble. Then, spontaneous ignition led to a spectacular column of flames many feet in the air. 

It is believed that these fires scattered fine uranium material throughout the plant (Duffey, 1981). 

In the earliest days of the process, the material was allowed to air-cool in stainless steel filter trays. 

However, due to recurring uranium fires, the process was modified so that drying occurred in an inert 

argon atmosphere (Adams, 1994). In other instances, hand scooping of the dried metal powder into its 

containers led to spontaneous ignition of the metal. When this occurred, the entire tray of metal was 

thrown out the side door of the building and allowed to burn itself out (Hayden, 1948). 
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6.0 Summary of Available Monitoring Data for the Class Evaluated 

by NIOSH

The following subsections provide an overview of the state of the available internal and external 

monitoring data for the Ventron class under evaluation. 

6.1 Available Ventron Internal Monitoring Data

The primary data used for determining internal exposures are derived from personal monitoring data, 

such as urinalyses, fecal samples, and whole-body counting results. If these are unavailable, the air 

monitoring data from breathing zone and general area monitoring are used to estimate the potential 

internal exposure. If personal monitoring and breathing zone area monitoring are unavailable, internal 

exposures can sometimes be estimated using more general area monitoring, process information, and 

information characterizing and quantifying the source term.

Medical Records

During the period under evaluation, the MED recommended that any individuals exposed directly to 

special materials should receive a yearly chest X-ray, blood analysis once every six months, and a 

monthly urinalysis (Warren, 1943). In 1945, the urinalysis requirement was relaxed somewhat to 

once every three months (Mears, 1945a). NIOSH has access to 254 individual employee medical files 

spanning from 1942 through 1947 (Monitoring Results, 1942-1947; Monitoring Results, 1942-1945; 

Monitoring Results, 1943-1945). These files contain employee names and occupations as well as the 

results of pre-employment and yearly physicals, blood tests, urinalyses, and chest X-rays. While the 

urine samples appear to have been microscopically analyzed, there is no indication that uranium 

assays were conducted. 

On November 11, 1943, wax finger impressions were taken of all individuals employed in the metal

operations at Metal Hydrides. The intent was to perform a repeat impression of each of these 

individuals after a year of working on the project, as well as a control group of individuals of similar 

age, sex, and weight with no exposure to uranium. Consequently, 71 impressions were taken on 

February 28, 1945, and 30 impressions were taken on November 1, 1945 (Fingerprint Impressions, 

1943-1946; Howland, 1944). 

Bioassay Data

NIOSH has found no indication that a routine uranium or thorium urinalysis program was in place 

during the Ventron operational period. NIOSH has the results of uranium urinalyses performed on a 

single individual on June 26, 1945 and again for four sequential days from August 7 through August 

10, 1945 (Mears, 1945c; Mears, 1945d). It appears that these urinalyses were conducted in response 

to significant weight loss on the part of the employee and a desire to determine whether this weight 

loss might be a result of exposure to uranium metal (Mears, 1945b). 
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Additional references in the site documentation to periodic urine samples were probably referring to 

non-radiological medical tests as part of medical monitoring (Howland, 1946; Mears, 1945a). 

Blood counts were part of the required physical examinations before starting work; they were repeated 

at three-month intervals (Howland, 1946). Blood counts were used in the early years to monitor 

potential radiation damage to the hematopoietic system. Note: Blood count information is not 

normally used as bioassay data for the purpose of radiological dose reconstruction. 

Air Sample Data

NIOSH has not located any documentation indicating that Ventron Corporation conducted a routine 

air sampling program for uranium, thorium, or radon during Ventron operations. However, a limited 

number of uranium air sample results were discovered for the Ventron operational period. These air 

samples were collected using an impinger and were analyzed by gross alpha counting (Dust 

Measurements, 1943-1944). They are listed in Table 6-1 along with their source documents. 

Table 6-1: Available Uranium Air Sample Results for the Ventron Operational Period

Sample Date Sample Location Result (μg/m3) SRDB Ref ID

March 5, 1943

Leaching drum during washing down 38.8

SRDB 5843

Over open filter while scraping 328.4

Over furnace in foundry while loading 169.5

In front of hood in foundry while cutting gates 7.1

Filling cans in drying room 353.1

Office near window by drawing desk 84.8

Dust house while emptying charge 381.4

General room sample in drying room 120.1

Drying furnace door 151.9

Under furnace in foundry during loading 434.4

Dust house during chipping and crushing 67.1

Reduction furnaces 130.7

June 15, 1944

Billet cooling table and crucibles being burned 

out (at nose level)

226

SRDB 10265

Taking billet from mould (1.5 ft from mould 

at nose height)

2450

Removing billet from furnace (2 ft from 

billets)

550

Screening scrap metal, oxides, and graphite (2 

feet from screen at nose level) 

7200

Sawing and packing room No result given
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6.2 Available Ventron External Monitoring Data

Personal monitoring data from film badges or thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) are the primary 

data used to determine such external exposures. If there are no personal monitoring data, exposure 

rate surveys, process knowledge, and source term modeling can sometimes be used to reconstruct the 

potential exposure. 

NIOSH has no indication that a personnel external dosimetry program was in place at Ventron during 

the period under evaluation. However, NIOSH has access to limited radiation exposure monitoring 

records for the period 1942 through 1948 at Ventron. In June 1944, a set of three measurements of 

stockpiled materials located outside the plant buildings, and a set of three measurements taken in 

working areas were recorded (Marvin, 1944). In order to determine whether additional precautions 

needed to be implemented in the handling of scrap materials, measurements were taken at the surface 

of an undetermined quantity of six-inch billets and at the surface of an undetermined quantity of 

six-foot rods in June 1945. The readings indicated that the material was of natural enrichment (Mears, 

1945e). The results of these measurements are presented in Table 6-2. 

Table 6-2: Available Area Survey Results for the Ventron Operational Period

Sample Date Sample Location Gamma

(r/8-hour day)

Beta/Gamma

(T-Units) SRDB Ref ID

June 15, 1944

One-half foot from 14,000 pounds of 

scrap

0.04 - 

SRDB 5855

One foot from 34,000 pounds of scrap 0.04 0.5

One-half foot from 13 tons of recast 

metal - 0.5

Working Area: Furnace room table - 0.2

Working Area: 1 foot from loaded 

furnace - 0.2

Working Area: 4 inches from a can of 

scrap graphite - 0.2

Sample Date Sample Location Gamma

(r/hour)

Beta/Gamma

(r/hour) SRDB Ref ID

June 26, 1945 Surface of 6 inch billets 0.02 0.24 SRDB 10232 Surface of 6 foot rods 0.02 0.04
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In December 1947, 25 measurements were taken at various locations throughout the Ventron plant. 

Another 24 measurements were taken on January 12, 1948 after some of the processing apparatus had 

been removed (Wolf, 1947; Wolf, 1948). These surveys, while limited, provide evidence of 

widespread contamination throughout the facility. The results of these measurements are presented in 

Table 6-3. 

Table 6-3: Available Area Survey Results for the Ventron Operational Period

(This table spans two pages)

Sample Date Sample Location Beta/Gamma1

(mrep/hr)

Gamma1

(mrep/hr)

Alpha2

(d/m) SRDB Ref ID

December 19, 1947

Second level office floor 0.29 - 4,000

SRDB 8934

Second level office desk - 0

Second level background 3 feet 

from floor 0.08 - - 

Ground 20 feet S of vent duct 0.5 - -

Change house background 3 feet 

from floor 0.3 - - 

Change house floor at 1 inch 1.9 - 13,000

Change house lockers at 1 inch <background - -

Storage shed background at 3 

feet from floor 0.2 - - 

Storage shed floor at 1 inch 1.0 - -

Guard house west of Change 

house, background 1.16 - - 

Guard house west of Change 

house floor at 1 inch 1.35 - - 

Carbon shop south end 

background 3 feet from floor 0.7 - - 

Carbon shop south end floor at 1 

inch 2.1 - 14,000

Burning room background 3 feet 

from floor 7.0 - 20.0 - - 

Furnace room background 3 feet 

from floor 1.5 - - 

Furnace room floor at 1 inch 2.0 - -

Concrete platform E side of 

building at 1 inch 1.5 - 7,200

Yard near bay bank, over old dry 

well at 1 inch 0.5 - - 

Yard near bay bank, background 

3 feet above surface 0.15 - - 

Dust under outside stairs at 2 

inches 1.3 - - 

Outside concrete steps to office 

at 2 inches 1.0 - - 

January 12, 1948

Balcony floor at 2 feet 2 0.7 -

SRDB 8934

Wall over balcony at 2 feet 0.5 - -

Background 3 feet above 

balcony 0.5 0.03 - 

Balcony floor - - 28,000

Furnace area floor 15-20 0.15 28,000
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Table 6-3: Available Area Survey Results for the Ventron Operational Period

(This table spans two pages)

Sample Date Sample Location Beta/Gamma1

(mrep/hr)

Gamma1

(mrep/hr)

Alpha2

(d/m) SRDB Ref ID

Main plant, leaching pit, filter 

box 2 - - 

January 12, 1948 

(cont.)

Main plant, leaching pit, floor - 16,000

SRDB 8934

(cont.)

Main plant, leaching pit S.G. 0.1 - -

Main plant, leaching pit, floor 0.2 - -

Main pant, laboratory, sink & 

drainboard 2-15 0.1 - 

Main plant, laboratory, hood 

bottom 2.0 0.1 - 

Main plant, shower room bench - - 7,000

Main plant, locker room, floor - - 4,400

Main plant, locker room, sink - - 1,000

Main plant, shower room, floor - - 1,000

Main plant, shower room, drain 0.7 - -

Main plant, wash room, drain 1.5 - -

Main plant, window screen, SE 

side 1.0 - - 

1

 Beta/gamma measurements taken with a Victoreen-263 meter without shield. Gamma-only measurements taken with a 

Victoreen-263 meter with shield in place.

2 Alpha measurements taken with a Zeuto detector. To discriminate between alpha and beta counts, two sets of 

measurements were made. The first was made with the detector by itself and the second was taken with a sheet of paper 

between the source and the detector. The difference between the two measurements was taken to be the alpha reading 

(Wolf, 1947). 

7.0 Feasibility of Dose Reconstruction for the Class Evaluated by 

NIOSH

The feasibility determination for the class of employees under evaluation in this report is governed by 

both EEOICPA and 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(1). Under that Act and rule, NIOSH must establish whether 

or not it has access to sufficient information either to estimate the maximum radiation dose for every 

type of cancer for which radiation doses are reconstructed that could have been incurred under 

plausible circumstances by any member of the class, or to estimate the radiation doses to members of 

the class more precisely than a maximum dose estimate. If NIOSH has access to sufficient 

information for either case, NIOSH would then determine that it would be feasible to conduct dose 

reconstructions. 

In determining feasibility, NIOSH begins by evaluating whether current or completed NIOSH dose 

reconstructions demonstrate the feasibility of estimating with sufficient accuracy the potential 

radiation exposures of the class. If the conclusion is one of infeasibility, NIOSH systematically 

evaluates the sufficiency of different types of monitoring data, process and source or source term data, 

which together or individually might assure that NIOSH can estimate either the maximum doses that 

members of the class might have incurred, or more precise quantities that reflect the variability of 

exposures experienced by groups or individual members of the class as summarized in Section 7.5. 
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This approach is discussed in DCAS’s SEC Petition Evaluation Internal Procedures which are

available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas. 

The next four major subsections of this Evaluation Report examine: 

• The sufficiency and reliability of the available data. (Section 7.1) 

• The feasibility of reconstructing internal radiation doses. (Section 7.2) 

• The feasibility of reconstructing external radiation doses. (Section 7.3) 

• The bases for petition SEC-00198 as submitted by the petitioner. (Section 7.4) 

7.1 Pedigree of Ventron Data

This subsection answers questions that need to be asked before performing a feasibility evaluation. 

Data Pedigree addresses the background, history, and origin of the data. It requires looking at site 

methodologies that may have changed over time; primary versus secondary data sources and whether 

they match; and whether data are internally consistent. All these issues form the bedrock of the 

researcher’s confidence and later conclusions about the data’s quality, credibility, reliability, 

representativeness, and sufficiency for determining the feasibility of dose reconstruction. The 

feasibility evaluation presupposes that data pedigree issues have been settled. 

7.1.1 Internal Monitoring Data Pedigree Review

As discussed in Section 6.1, NIOSH has not located any documentation indicating the existence of

routine air sampling or internal monitoring programs for uranium or thorium during the operation of 

the Metal Hydrides plant. The MED Data Sheet for Industrial Hazards indicates that air sampling, 

dust counts, area monitoring, urinalysis, and personnel film badge monitoring were not required for 

the scrap-casting operations at this facility (Data Sheet, unknown date, pdf p. 41). Therefore, an 

internal monitoring data sufficiency and pedigree evaluation is not possible for the internal monitoring 

data type. 

The air sampling data from the MED/AEC are contained in original reports and are, therefore, primary 

data sources. The results of 12 samples taken on March 5, 1943 and four samples taken on June 15, 

1944 are recorded in units of micrograms of metal per cubic foot of air (Dust Measurements, 1943-

1944; Dust Measurements, 1944). However, due to a lack of detailed inventory data spanning the 

entire period under evaluation, NIOSH could not draw a conclusion about the representativeness of 

the samples for the purpose of estimating personnel intakes. 
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7.1.2 External Monitoring Data Pedigree Review

NIOSH did not locate any personnel external dosimetry data for the operational period under 

evaluation (August 13, 1942 through December 31, 1948). The MED Data Sheet for Industrial 

Hazards indicates that air sampling, dust counts, area monitoring, urinalysis, and personnel film badge 

monitoring were not required for the scrap-casting operations at this facility (Data Sheet, unknown 

date, pdf p. 41). Therefore, a data sufficiency and pedigree evaluation is not possible for this data type 

for this period. 

The area survey data from the MED/AEC are contained in original reports and are, therefore, primary 

data sources. The results of six samples taken on June 15, 1944 are recorded in r/8 hour day and T 

units (Marvin, 1944). NIOSH is interpreting the T unit to be a measurement of beta radiation. In this 

case, a T unit is defined as "0.25 R/hr" (i.e., rep/hr) of beta radiation only, which is derived from the 

beta dose rate on contact with natural uranium metal (tuballoy). The four measurements taken of two

types of material on June 26, 1945 are recorded in units of r per hour (Mears, 1945e). A total of 49 

measurements were collected in December 1947 and January 1948 with 24 of those measurements 

being collected after various pieces of process equipment were removed from the site. Beta and 

gamma measurements from the December 1947 and January 1948 surveys are recorded in units of 

mrep per hour, while alpha measurements for the same surveys are reported in d/m (Wolf, 1948). 

However, due to a lack of detailed inventory data spanning the entire period under evaluation, NIOSH 

could not draw a conclusion about the representativeness of the samples for the purpose of estimating 

personnel intakes. 

7.2 Evaluation of Bounding Internal Radiation Doses at Ventron

The principal source of internal radiation doses for members of the class under evaluation was 

inhalation and ingestion of uranium, thorium, and uranium progeny contained in dust and fumes 

associated with cutting and smelting operations, and from uranium ores. The following subsections 

address the ability to bound internal doses, methods for bounding doses, and the feasibility of internal 

dose reconstruction. 

7.2.1 Evaluation of Bounding Process-Related Internal Doses

Metal Hydrides workers were potentially exposed to thorium metal dust, uranium metal dust, uranium 

oxides, progeny from uranium ores, and uranium fumes resulting from smelting operations. NIOSH 

has found no indications that bioassay measurements were collected for the period under evaluation. 

NIOSH has also been unable to locate any records indicating that breathing zone or area air sampling 

was conducted during any of the spontaneous fires that occurred either in the processing areas or 

outside in the settling basin. 

NOISH has not been able to confirm what operations were being performed during the time available 

samples were being collected. NIOSH has also been unable to determine whether the samples were 

representative of all work areas throughout the Metal Hydrides plant. A 1948 discussion of the health 

aspects of working with powdered uranium noted that the process area is not isolated from the rest of 

the plant where non-AEC work was being conducted (Hayden, 1948). NIOSH has not located any 

information indicating that there were physical or administrative access controls that would limit 

workers from other areas of the plant from entering the uranium production areas. 
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Due to a lack of detailed inventory data spanning the entire period under evaluation, NIOSH could not 

draw a conclusion about the representativeness of the samples for the purpose of estimating personnel 

intakes even for the work spaces in which the samples were acquired.

The following subsections summarize the extent and limitations of information available for 

reconstructing the process-related internal doses of members of the class under evaluation. 

7.2.1.1 Urinalysis Information and Available Data 

The uranium urinalysis sample results available to NIOSH are for a single individual. It is unclear 

from the available documentation where in the operational process the sampled individual was 

employed. These urinalysis results are not comprehensive and do not constitute representative 

sampling of Ventron activities.

7.2.1.2 Airborne Levels

NIOSH has not located any documentation indicating that Ventron conducted a routine air sampling 

program for uranium or thorium during Ventron operations. NIOSH has also been unable to locate 

any records indicating that breathing zone or area air sampling was conducted during any of the 

spontaneous fires that occurred either in the processing areas or outside in the settling basin. 

NIOSH has obtained a limited number of uranium air sampling results for 1943 and 1944, which were 

analyzed by alpha counting. However, those results were found to be inadequate to bound internal 

intakes during the period under evaluation (Dust Measurements, 1943-1944; Dust Measurements, 

1944). Neither set of air sampling measurements gives clear indication that these samples were 

representative of the air concentrations that could be encountered by workers in each of the three 

principal process buildings. Due to a lack of detailed inventory records, NIOSH cannot determine the 

quantity of material present when the sampling was performed; therefore, the relevance or 

representativeness of those samples for the evaluated class cannot be established. 

7.2.2 Methods for Bounding Operational Period Internal Dose at Ventron

NIOSH has determined that the available data are inadequate to reconstruct worker exposures to 

uranium, thorium, and uranium daughter products resulting from smelting activities performed during 

the Ventron operational period under evaluation. 

Uranium internal exposures during the operational period cannot be bounded using measured air 

concentration data. The available air concentration data cover a very limited duration of time and may 

not be representative of the air concentrations encountered by the maximally-exposed individual. 

Furthermore, there is no indication that air samples were taken during any of the fire events that could 

reasonably be expected to have dispersed particulate oxides throughout the plant. 
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7.2.3 Internal Dose Reconstruction Feasibility Conclusion 

NIOSH has evaluated the available personnel and workplace monitoring data and source term 

information and has determined that there are insufficient data for estimating internal exposures, as 

described below.

As discussed in Section 5.3, NIOSH has identified limited urinalysis results for a single individual 

analyzed for uranium during the AWE operational period, but has not found documentation that 

describes the sampling or analysis protocols used for that set of bioassay data. Beyond this single set 

of bioassay results, no other personnel bioassay monitoring results have been located. These limited 

internal personnel monitoring data are for a single individual, and there is no evidence to indicate 

these data are representative of the most highly-exposed workers at the Ventron facility, nor is there a 

way to verify that the available sample results are representative of all workers. 

In the absence of other personnel monitoring data for the period 1942 through 1948, NIOSH has 

insufficient personnel monitoring data to appropriately characterize internal radiation intakes during 

Ventron operations. 

NIOSH has not located any documentation indicating that Ventron conducted a routine air sampling 

program for uranium or thorium during Ventron operations. However, a limited number of uranium 

air sample results were discovered for the years 1943 and 1944 only. The available air concentration 

data cover a very limited duration of time and may not be representative of the air concentrations 

encountered by the maximally-exposed individual. Furthermore, there is no indication that air 

samples were taken during any of the fire events that could reasonably be expected to have dispersed 

particulate oxides throughout the plant. 

In the absence of adequate internal dose monitoring criteria and adequate personnel monitoring data, 

NIOSH has not found sufficient general area air sampling, breathing zone air sampling, site survey, or 

source term information to allow it to bound potential exposures, or to demonstrate that workers were 

adequately monitored for potential exposures to radioactive materials at Ventron during the 

MED/AEC operational period. NIOSH has determined that reconstruction of the total internal doses 

received from exposures to uranium, thorium, and uranium progeny is not feasible using the 

information available to NIOSH for the period under evaluation from November 1, 1942 through 

December 31, 1948. 

Although NIOSH found that it is not possible to completely reconstruct internal radiation doses for the 

period from November 1, 1942 through December 31, 1948, NIOSH intends to use any internal 

monitoring data that may become available for an individual claim (and that can be interpreted using 

existing NIOSH dose reconstruction processes or procedures). Dose reconstructions for individuals 

employed at Ventron during the period from November 1, 1942 through December 31, 1948, but who 

do not qualify for inclusion in the SEC, may be performed using these data as appropriate. 
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7.3 Evaluation of Bounding External Radiation Doses at Ventron

The principal source of external radiation doses for members of the evaluated class was exposure to 

beta and gamma radiation emanating from uranium-bearing and thorium-bearing materials. The 

following subsections address the ability to bound external doses, methods for bounding doses, and 

the feasibility of external dose reconstruction.

The following subsections address the ability to bound external doses, methods for bounding doses, 

and the feasibility of external dose reconstruction. 

7.3.1 Evaluation of Bounding Process-Related External Doses

NIOSH has not identified any personal dosimetry data associated with the uranium processing or 

thorium handling that occurred during the period under evaluation. NIOSH has access to a limited set 

of radiation level surveys for this time period. These measurements include surveys of materials, 

surveys of equipment, and a general area survey of three working areas. No survey data are available 

for the time period in which uranium metal was being produced using the hydramet process. 

Similarly, no survey data are available for the time period in which thorium was used for the 

commercial production of thoriated tungsten filaments. It is important to note that no information is 

recorded regarding what quantities of materials were being handled or which specific process steps 

were being performed during sampling. Accordingly, NIOSH is unable to determine whether these 

survey results are representative of the radiation field present during the entire operational period. 

NIOSH has not identified sufficient documentation to define and quantify the total external source 

term for Ventron during the period under evaluation. Without additional documentation, NIOSH 

cannot make reasonable assumptions about the relative amounts of materials that would have been 

encountered at the site during the specified period. Thus, NIOSH finds that it is infeasible to 

completely reconstruct external doses for the class under evaluation due to insufficient monitoring 

data. Therefore, there is insufficient information available to NIOSH to bound external exposures for 

the period from November 1, 1942 through December 31, 1948. 

7.3.2 Ventron Occupational X-Ray Examinations 

It is known that pre-employment radiographs of the chest were required for Ventron employees as 

early as May 11, 1943 (Friedell, 1943). By August 1945, Ventron Corporation was repeating the 

chest X-rays annually (Mears, 1945a) and in August 1946, the MED Medical Section standardized its 

policies to require both a pre-employment and termination chest X-ray of any individuals who would 

be engaged in processing uranium ores and compounds (Howland, 1946). NIOSH has access to 254 

employee medical files containing indications that each employee received a pre-employment chest 

X-ray. These files span the years 1943 through 1947 and contain data on a variety of worker types, 

from stenographers and guards to foundry and furnace operators (Monitoring Results, 1942-1947; 

Monitoring Results, 1942-1945; Monitoring Results, 1943-1945).
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NIOSH does have indications that performance of the required chest radiographs involved the Beverly 

Hospital (Beverly Hospital, 1945), but NIOSH does not have sufficient information to verify that all 

medical X-ray examinations performed as a condition of employment at Ventron were performed offsite. In the absence of documentary evidence about where X-rays examinations were performed, it is 

NIOSH policy to assume that X-rays were taken onsite; therefore, occupational medical exposure is to 

be included in dose reconstruction for Ventron workers. 

7.3.3 Methods for Bounding Operational Period External Dose at Ventron

There is an established protocol for assessing external exposure when performing dose 

reconstructions: 

• Photon Dose 

• Beta Dose

• Neutron Dose 

• Medical X-ray Dose (as applicable per Section 7.3.3) 

NIOSH has not identified any external monitoring records or personal dosimetry data associated with 

the uranium processing or thorium handling conducted during the period under evaluation. This was a 

unique project for which there were no operational logs, minimal descriptions of activities, and little 

corresponding radiological data. NIOSH has not located any information documenting or describing a 

regular workplace monitoring program. No records of any routine monitoring or area survey program 

have been located. 

NIOSH has determined that it lacks sufficient personnel monitoring data, area monitoring data, or 

source term data needed to bound external photon, beta, or neutron doses that Ventron workers 

potentially received from natural uranium, thorium metal, uranium residues, and uranium progeny. 

Therefore, NIOSH has not identified a method for bounding external doses at Ventron for the period 

from November 1, 1942 through December 31, 1948. 

Medical X-ray Dose 

NIOSH will perform reconstruction of medical dose using the available X-ray data and the 

claimant-favorable assumptions in the Technical Information Bulletin, Dose Reconstruction from 

Occupationally Related Diagnostic X-Ray Procedures (ORAUT-OTIB-0006) 
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7.3.4 External Dose Reconstruction Feasibility Conclusion 

NIOSH does not have access to sufficient personnel monitoring, workplace monitoring, or source 

term data to estimate potential external exposures to uranium, thorium, or uranium progeny during the 

period of refining and smelting operations. Therefore, NIOSH finds that it is infeasible to completely 

reconstruct external doses from November 1, 1942 through December 31, 1948 due to insufficient 

monitoring data. 

Although NIOSH found that it is not possible to completely reconstruct external radiation doses for 

the period from November 1, 1942 through December 31, 1948, NIOSH intends to use any external 

monitoring data that may become available for an individual claim (and that can be interpreted using 

existing NIOSH dose reconstruction processes or procedures). Dose reconstructions for individuals 

employed at Ventron during the period from November 1, 1942 through December 31, 1948, but who 

do not qualify for inclusion in the SEC, may be performed using these data as appropriate. 

7.4 Evaluation of Petition Basis for SEC-00198

The following assertion was made on behalf of petition SEC-00198 for the Ventron Corporation: 

Lack of Monitoring Data 

SEC-00198: To the best of my knowledge, there was no monitoring at Ventron Corp. 

Personal internal, external monitoring, and/or area monitoring data are not always required to develop 

an exposure model for a given facility. However, if these monitoring data are not available, NIOSH 

must have access to source term information and detailed process information in order to develop a 

sufficiently accurate exposure model. 

NIOSH has determined that it does not have adequate internal monitoring data for members of the 

class under evaluation, nor does it have enough source term or process information to develop a 

sufficiently accurate model for dose reconstruction for these exposures during the relevant timeframe.

(See Sections 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 7.2.1, 7.2.1.2 and 7.3.3 for further discussions.) 
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7.5 Summary of Feasibility Findings for Petition SEC-00198

This report evaluates the feasibility for completing dose reconstructions for employees at the Ventron 

Corporation site from August 13, 1942 through December 1948. NIOSH found that the available 

monitoring records, process descriptions and source term data available are not sufficient to complete 

dose reconstructions for the evaluated class of employees. During its research, NIOSH also obtained 

documentation showing that the MED took over cognizance of weapons-related metal production at 

the site on November 1, 1942; therefore, the start of the NIOSH-proposed class was changed to that 

date.

Table 7-1 summarizes the results of the feasibility findings at Ventron for each exposure source 

during the revised time period November 1, 1942 through December 1948. 

Table 7-1: Summary of Feasibility Findings for SEC-00198

November 1, 1942 through December 31, 1948

Source of Exposure Reconstruction Feasible Reconstruction Not Feasible

Internal1 X 

 - U X

 - Rn X

 - Th X

External X 

 - Gamma X

 - Beta X

 - Neutron X

 - Occupational Medical X-ray X

1 Internal includes an evaluation of urinalysis (in vitro), airborne dust, and lung (in vivo) data

As of June 4, 2012, a total of nine claims have been submitted to NIOSH for individuals who worked 

at Ventron during the period under evaluation in this report. Dose reconstructions have been 

completed for nine individuals (100%). 

Although NIOSH found that it is not possible to completely reconstruct radiation doses for the 

proposed class, NIOSH intends to use any internal and external monitoring data that may become 

available for an individual claim (and that can be interpreted using existing NIOSH dose 

reconstruction processes or procedures). Therefore, dose reconstructions for individuals employed at 

Ventron during the period from November 1, 1942 through December 31, 1948, but who do not 

qualify for inclusion in the SEC, may be performed using these data as appropriate. 
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8.0 Evaluation of Health Endangerment for Petition SEC-00198

The health endangerment determination for the class of employees covered by this evaluation report is 

governed by both EEOICPA and 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(3). Under these requirements, if it is not 

feasible to estimate with sufficient accuracy radiation doses for members of the class, NIOSH must 

also determine that there is a reasonable likelihood that such radiation doses may have endangered the 

health of members of the class. Section 83.13 requires NIOSH to assume that any duration of 

unprotected exposure may have endangered the health of members of a class when it has been 

established that the class may have been exposed to radiation during a discrete incident likely to have 

involved levels of exposure similarly high to those occurring during nuclear criticality incidents. If 

the occurrence of such an exceptionally high-level exposure has not been established, then NIOSH is 

required to specify that health was endangered for those workers who were employed for a number of 

work days aggregating at least 250 work days within the parameters established for the class or in 

combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of 

employees in the SEC. 

NIOSH has determined that members of the proposed class were not exposed to radiation during a 

discrete incident likely to have involved levels of exposure similarly high to those occurring during 

nuclear criticality incidents. However, the evidence reviewed in this evaluation indicates that some 

workers in the class may have accumulated chronic radiation exposures through intakes of uranium or 

from direct exposure to these radioactive materials. NIOSH’s evaluation determined that it is not 

feasible to estimate radiation dose for members of the NIOSH-evaluated class with sufficient accuracy 

based on the sum of information available from available resources. Therefore, the resulting NIOSHproposed SEC class must include a minimum required employment period as a basis for specifying 

that health was endangered. 

9.0 Class Conclusion for Petition SEC-00198

Based on its full research of the class under evaluation, NIOSH has defined a single class of 

employees for which NIOSH cannot estimate radiation doses with sufficient accuracy. The NIOSHproposed class to be added to the SEC includes all Atomic Weapons Employees who worked for the

Ventron Corporation at its facility in Beverly, Massachusetts, from November 1, 1942 through 

December 31, 1948 for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either 

solely under this employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established for 

one or more classes of employees included in the Special Exposure Cohort. 

NIOSH has carefully reviewed all material sent in by the petitioner, including the specific assertions 

stated in the petition, and has responded herein (see Section 7.4). NIOSH has also reviewed available 

technical resources and many other references, including the Site Research Database (SRDB), for 

information relevant to SEC-00198. In addition, NIOSH reviewed its NOCTS dose reconstruction 

database to identify EEOICPA-related dose reconstructions that might provide information relevant to 

the petition evaluation. 
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These actions are based on existing, approved NIOSH processes used in dose reconstruction for 

claims under EEOICPA. NIOSH’s guiding principle in conducting these dose reconstructions is to 

ensure that the assumptions used are fair, consistent, and well-grounded in the best available science. 

Simultaneously, uncertainties in the science and data must be handled to the advantage, rather than to 

the detriment, of the petitioners. When adequate personal dose monitoring information is not 

available, or is very limited, NIOSH may use the highest reasonably possible radiation dose, based on 

reliable science, documented experience, and relevant data to determine the feasibility of 

reconstructing the dose of an SEC petition class. NIOSH contends that it has complied with these 

standards of performance in determining the feasibility or infeasibility of reconstructing dose for the 

class under evaluation. 
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10.0 References 

42 C.F.R. pt. 81, Guidelines for Determining the Probability of Causation Under the Energy 

Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000; Final Rule, Federal 

Register/Vol. 67, No. 85/Thursday, p. 22,296; May 2, 2002; SRDB Ref ID: 19391 

42 C.F.R. pt. 82, Methods for Radiation Dose Reconstruction Under the Energy Employees 

Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000; Final Rule; May 2, 2002; SRDB Ref ID: 

19392 

42 C.F.R. pt. 83, Procedures for Designating Classes of Employees as Members of the Special 

Exposure Cohort Under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 

2000; Final Rule; May 28, 2004; SRDB Ref ID: 22001 

42 U.S.C. §§ 7384-7385 [EEOICPA], Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation 

Program Act of 2000, as amended

Adams, 1994, Metal Hydrides, Inc. and the Dawn of the Atomic Age; David L. Adams; October 7, 

1994; SRDB Ref ID: 9988 

Alexander, unknown date, Excerpt Concerning Metal Hydrides History; R. Alexander; unknown date; 

SRDB Ref ID: 68918 

Alexander, post-1942, The Production of Uranium Metal by Metal Hydrides Incorporated; P. P. 

Alexander; unknown date-sometime after 1942; SRDB Ref ID: 113002 

Alexander, 1953, Semi-Annual Report of Research Issuance of SF Materials, correspondence to 

Ronald DeRensis; Paul R. Alexander; August 6, 1953; SRDB Ref ID: 68969 

Ames, 1947, History of the Ames Project Under the Manhattan District to December 31, 1946, F. H. 

Spedding; Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa; December 9, 1947; SRDB Ref ID: 18823, pdf pp. 6-7 

Authority Review, 1985, Authority Review: Ventron Division of Thiokol Corporation, Beverly, 

Massachusetts and Related Documents; contains documents that appear to have been grouped under 

the same cover letter; cover letter dated September 12, 1985; SRDB Ref ID: 16484 

Banus, 1953, Request for Material, correspondence to J. Mafucci; M. D. Banus; August 31, 1953; 

SRDB Ref ID: 68970 

Battelle-TBD-6000, Site Profiles for Atomic Weapons Employers that Worked Uranium and Thorium 

Metals, Rev. 1, June 17, 2011; SRDB Ref ID: 30671 

Beverly Hospital, 1945, Letter Concerning Medical Exams for Metal Hydride, Inc., Conducted at the 

Beverly Hospital, Beverly, Massachusetts; letter from B. P. Todd, MD (Beverly Hospital) to Dr. J. W. 

Howland (Office of the Medical Section – Manhattan Engineer District); July 27, 1945; SRDB Ref 

ID: 10265, pdf p. 17 
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Certification, 2003, Certification of the Radiological Condition of the Ventron Site in Beverly, MA, 

The Federal Register; October 21, 2003; SRDB Ref ID: 107185 

Cottrell, 1988, Results of the Radiological Survey at the Ventron Site, Beverly, Massachusetts; W. D. 

Cottrell and R. F. Carrier of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); Issued May 1988; SRDB Ref 

ID: 16486 

Data Sheet, unknown date, Medical Section Manhattan District Data Sheets for Industrial Hazard 

Rating; SRDB Ref ID: 7702

DCAS-PR-004, Internal Procedures for the Evaluation of Special Exposure Cohort Petitions, Rev. 1, 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH); Cincinnati, Ohio; April 15, 2011; 

SRDB Ref ID: 94768 

DOE, 1992, Ventron Characterization Plan, DE-AC05-91OR21950; Department of Energy (DOE); 

August 1992; SRDB Ref ID: 52570 

DOE, 1995, Characterization Report for the Ventron Site, DOE/OR/21950-1011; Department of 

Energy (DOE); December 1995; SRDB Ref ID: 52594 

Duffey, 1981, Uranium Residues from Manhattan Engineer District Operations at metal hydride, 

Beverly, Massachusetts (Now Ventron Division of Thiokol Corp.); D. Duffey; September 30, 1981; 

SRDB Ref ID: 68937 

Dust Measurements, 1943-1944, Dust Measurements for March 6 and 13, 1943 and June 14, 1944; 

SRDB Ref ID: 5843 

Dust Measurements, 1944, Dust Measurements at Metal Hydrides Company; War Department, United 

States Engineer Office; June 15, 1944; SRDB Ref ID: 10265, pdf pp. 59-65

Fingerprint Impressions, 1943-1946, Fingerprint Impressions Taken at Metal Hydrides Incorporated, 

Beverly, Massachusetts, correspondence to The Area Engineer with results attached; SRDB Ref ID: 

10265, pdf pp. 3-7 

Friedell, 1943, Medical Safeguards at Metal Hydrides, correspondence to The Ares Engineer 

regarding meeting recommendations; H. L. Friedell; May 19, 1943; SRDB Ref ID: 10265, pdf p. 108 

Gates, 1946, Description of Uranium Producing Processes, contains cover memo; M. E. Gates; 

October 17, 1946; SRDB Ref ID: 9036, pdf pp. 65-71 

Hayden, 1948, Discussion of Health Aspects of the Preparation of Powdered Uranium at Metal 

Hydride, correspondence to B. S. Wolf; R. E. Hayden; January 28, 1948; SRDB Ref ID: 8932 

Howland, 1944, Wax Finger Impressions, correspondence to Robert J. Anicetti; J. W. Howland; 

December 12, 1944; SRDB Ref ID: 10265, pdf p. 43 
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Howland, 1946, Standardization of Medical Programs, correspondence to Dr. Anicetti; Joe W. 

Howland; August 20, 1946; SRDB Ref ID: 10216 

Marvin, 1944, Radiation Measurements at Metal Hydride, memorandum to the files; R. S. Marvin; 

June 15, 1944; SRDB Ref ID: 5855 

Mears, 1945a, Program to Address the Problem of Examination, correspondence to Dr. Bernard P. 

Todd; B. J. Mears; August 7, 1945; SRDB Ref ID: 10265, pdf p. 16 

Mears, 1945b, Concerning Employee Health, correspondence to Dr. Anicetti; B. J. Mears; September 

19, 1945; SRDB Ref ID: 10265, pdf p. 13 

Mears, 1945c, Urinalyses Report Results, correspondence to R. J. Anicetti regarding enclosed 

urinalyses results; B. J. Mears; results are from August 7-10, 1945; SRDB Ref ID: 10265, pdf pp. 14-

15 

Mears, 1945d, Urinalyses Report Result, correspondence to R. J. Anicetti regarding enclosed 

urinalysis results; B. J. Mears; results are from June 26, 1945; SRDB Ref ID: 10265, pdf pp. 18-19 

Mears, 1945e, The Ion Meter Readings Taken on June 28, 1945, correspondence; B. J. Mears; July 2, 

1945; SRDB Ref ID: 10232, pdf pp. 4-5 

Monitoring Results, 1942-1945, Monitoring Results and Physical Examination Information for 

Ventron Employees from 1942 through 1945; SRDB Ref ID: 10260 

Monitoring Results, 1942-1947, Monitoring Results and Physical Examination Information for 

Ventron Employees from 1942 through 1947; SRDB Ref ID: 10259 

Monitoring Results, 1943-1945, Monitoring Results and Physical Examination Information for 

Ventron Employees from 1943 through 1945; SRDB Ref ID: 10263 

Morse, 1946, Metal Hydrides-Myrnalloy Production, memo to files; Rollin D. Morse; January 9, 

1946; SRDB Ref ID: 31138, pdf p. 55 

Neuman, 1947, The Fluorophotometric Determination of Uranium in Biological Material; W. F. 

Neuman, R. W. Fleming, A. B. Carlson, and N. Glover; December 5, 1947; SRDB Ref ID: 115053 

Noey, 1987, Radiological and Limited Chemical Characterization Plan for the Ventron Division of 

Morton Thiokol, Inc.; K. C. Noey, M. E. Kaye, and J. L. Davis; August 1987; SRDB Ref ID: 16485 

OCAS-TIB-009, Estimation of Ingestion Intakes, Rev. 0, NIOSH Office of Compensation Analysis 

and Support; April 13, 2004; SRDB Ref ID: 22397 

ORAUT-OTIB-0006, Dose Reconstruction from Occupational Medical X-Ray Procedures, Rev. 4, 

Oak Ridge Associated Universities; June 20, 2011; SRDB Ref ID: 98147
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ORAUT-OTIB-0079, Guidance on Assigning Occupational X-ray Dose Under EEOICPA for X-rays 

Administered Off Site, Rev. 00, Oak Ridge Associated Universities; January 3, 2011; SRDB Ref ID: 

89563 

Post-Remedial Report, 2003, Post-Remedial Report for the Remedial Action at the Ventron Site, 

Beverly, Massachusetts, prepared by Bechtel National, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy 

Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP); March 2003; SRDB Ref ID: 68759

Production Reports, 1942-1943, Metal Hydrides Weekly Production Reports, reports from Metal 

Hydrides to the U.S. Engineer Office, Manhattan District; various dates from December 1942 to 

September 1943; SRDB Ref ID: 31631 

Rad Health, 1970, Radiological Health Handbook; Compiled and edited by the Bureau of 

Radiological Health and the Training Institute Environmental Control Administration; Revised 

Edition January 1970; SRDB Ref ID: 75017 

Radiological Health Handbook, 1998, Handbook of Health Physics and Radiological Health, 3rd 

Edition, B. Shleien, L. A. Slaback, Jr., B. K. Birky, editors; 1998; SRDB Ref ID: 22737 (commonly 

available from public resources)

Randall, 1947, Visit to Metal Hydrides, memo to files; Raymond V. Randall; March 14, 1947; SRDB 

Ref ID: 5808 

Roboff, 1945, Metal Recasting at Metal hydride Incorporated, correspondence to Lt. J. N. Howland; 

Stanley B. Roboff; March 7, 1945; SRDB Ref ID: 10265, pdf p. 33 

Ruhoff, 1943, Notice of Stopping Production at Metal Hydrides, correspondence to Dr. R. L. Doan; 

John R. Ruhoff; July 28, 1943; SRDB Ref ID: 68974 

Ventron, 1979, Ventron Corporation (Metal Hydrides Corporation), draft fact sheet of some type; 

September 1979; SRDB Ref ID: 10256, pdf p. 34 

Ventron, 1982, Ventron Corporation Summary Information; revised summary fact sheet; revised 

January 18, 1982; SRDB Ref ID: 68942 

Warren, 1943, Summarized Recommendations of Medical Section from May 19 to October 21, 1943, 

correspondence to The District Engineer; Stafford L. Warren; December 13, 1943; SRDB Ref ID: 

13699 

Weekly Reports, 1942-1946, Assorted Weekly Reports to the District Engineer, Manhattan District, 

various dates from November 1942 to October 1946 summarizing operations at various sites, 

including Metal Hydrides; SRDB Ref ID: 52574 

Wolf, 1947, Disposal of Metal Hydride Equipment, correspondence to F. M. Belmore; B. S. Wolf; 

December 19, 1947; SRDB Ref ID: 8934, pdf pp. 6-7 
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Wolf, 1948, Radiation Survey of the Metal Hydride at Beverly, correspondence to F. M. Belmore; B. 

S. Wolf; January 13, 1948; SRDB Ref ID: 8934, pdf pp. 3-4 
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SEC-00198 08-14-12 Ventron Corporation 

Page 47 of 52 

Attachment 1: Data Capture Synopsis

Table A1-1: Data Capture Synopsis for Ventron Corporation

Data Capture Information General Description of Documents Captured Date Completed Uploaded

To SRDB

Primary Site / Company Name: Ventron

Corporation; AWE 1942-1948; Residual Radiation 

1949-1985; 1987-1995; DOE 1986; 1996-1997 

(remediation) 

Alternate Site Names: 

Ventron Div.

Morton Thiokol, Inc. 

Physical Size of the Site: 3 Acres

Site Population: 107 (1942-43)

 

No relevant documents identified. Continuing effort with Dow Chemical as 

potential source of records.

OPEN 0

State Contacted: Massachusetts Department of 

Public Health [Phone No. redacted]

Characterization of radiation dose, health study for Goat Hill, radiation survey, 

uranium guideline, engineering evaluation/cost analysis, and a uranium 

cleanup guideline recommendation.

04/12/2012 13

Brookhaven National Laboratory Uranium and Thorium Powder Metallurgy Fabrication Program. 11/26/2008 1

Claimant Provided A FOIA request which includes medical information. 04/18/2005 1

Department of Labor / Paragon Operational Surety Program and chemical and hazardous material inventories. 01/23/2012 2

DOE Germantown Health aspects of preparation of powdered uranium, disposition of scrap, 

monthly accountability report, fire survey of Metal Hydrides, uranium work, 

and a radiation survey.

01/23/2004 9

DOE Legacy Management - Grand Junction Office Urinalysis, radon, breath, and air dust samples, shipping documents, materials 

accountability, contract W-7405-Eng-8, thorium tetrafluoride for Metal 

Hydrides, Inc., radiological surveys, verification survey, post-remedial action 

report, source material license number R-112, certificate of disposition of 

materials STB-180, disposal of offsite-generated defense radioactive waste, 

newspaper articles, uranium guidelines for the Ventron site, Metal Hydrides 

history, notice of stopping production, personnel medical records, chest x-rays, 

progress reports, raw materials and production reports, contractor code names, 

Metallurgical Project bulletins, progress reports, and trip reports.

08/30/2011 133

DOE Legacy Management - MoundView (Fernald 

Holdings, includes Fernald Legal Database)

Major thorium campaigns and a proposed work program for New Brunswick 

Laboratory.

05/21/2008 2
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Table A1-1: Data Capture Synopsis for Ventron Corporation

Data Capture Information General Description of Documents Captured Date Completed Uploaded

To SRDB

DOE Oak Ridge Operations Office Employee and key personnel interviews. Data request ORO-FY12-007 is in 

process. Three of five sources have been searched and no information 

identified yet.

OPEN 2

DOE Oak Ridge Operations, Records Holding Task 

Group

NIOSH notes on location holdings. 12/10/2012 1

DOE OSTI Production, melting, and casting uranium metal. 01/23/2012 2

EM File Room Weekly project reports and uranium activities. 09/11/2002 1

Federal Records Center - Kansas City TLD reports, weekly reports, and a monthly material accountability report. 08/11/2008 4

Federal Records Center - Lenexa Ventron characterization, contaminated soil to be removed, contract W-7405-

Eng-8, dose assessment of buildings A and A-1, radiological survey, news 

articles, NRC material license STB-180 amendment, sample collection 

logbook, radioactive waste profile, and dose calculation and remedial action 

approach.

03/04/2009 18

Hagley Museum and Library History of X metal plant development and The Hanford Story. 10/01/2012 2

Hanford Monthly accountability report. Awaiting response to Hanford Data Capture 

Activity 66.

OPEN 1

Internet - Defense Technical Information Center 

(DTIC)

No relevant documents identified. 04/19/2012 0

Internet - DOE Comprehensive Epidemiologic Data 

Resource (CEDR)

No relevant documents identified. 04/18/2012 0

Internet - DOE Hanford Declassified Document 

Retrieval System (DDRS)

A Hanford monthly report and alpha extrusion at Revere Copper and Brass 

Company. 

03/25/2010 3

Internet - DOE Legacy Management Considered 

Sites

Transfer of FUSRAP site from DOE to U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, longterm surveillance and maintenance needs, certification docket for the remedial 

action performed at Chapman Valve site, and Metals Hydrides, Inc. and the 

Dawn of the Atomic Age. 

01/29/2012 6

Internet - DOE National Nuclear Security 

Administration (NNSA) - Nevada Site Office

No relevant documents identified. 01/06/2012 0

Internet - DOE OpenNet Linking Legacies and Manhattan Engineer Project history. 12/31/2007 2

Internet - DOE OSTI Energy Citations Overview of U.S. decommissioning experience. 04/08/2009 1

Internet - DOE OSTI Information Bridge Management of wastes generated, experiment design for GTR-20 radiation 

effects, quarterly report on the reduction of uranium oxides, implementation 

plan environmental restoration, and the effect of soil erosion on long-term 

stability of near-surface waste-burial sites. 

01/29/2012 10
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Table A1-1: Data Capture Synopsis for Ventron Corporation

Data Capture Information General Description of Documents Captured Date Completed Uploaded

To SRDB

Internet - Google Minerals yearbook 1946, uranium and thorium section, Metal Hydrides 

company involvement in the development of the atom bomb, residual 

radioactivity evaluations for individual facilities, markets and technology 

trends, fact sheet for Ventron, radiological condition of the Ventron site, 

Morton Thiokol Inc, Ventron division summary report, and a monthly report. 

01/29/2012 36

Internet - Health Physics Journal No relevant documents identified. 04/18/2012 0

Internet - Journal of Occupational and 

Environmental Hygiene

No relevant documents identified. 04/18/2012 0

Internet - MA Department of Environmental 

Protection

Demolition of Building A and A-1 risk characterization report and a site 

investigation report.

04/19/2012 3

Internet - National Academies Press (NAP) No relevant documents identified. 01/06/2012 0

Internet - NIOSH Report on Residual Radioactive and Beryllium Contamination at Atomic 

Weapons Employer Facilities and Beryllium Vendor Facilities.

01/25/2007 1

Internet - NRC Agencywide Document Access and 

Management (ADAMS) 

Environmental restoration wastes, financial assurance for decommissioning, 

impact statement, spent fuel and radioactive waste inventories, and response to 

questions on disposal of certain wastes. 

04/19/2012 12

Internet - USACE/FUSRAP No relevant documents identified. 01/06/2012 0

Internet - US Transuranium and Uranium Registries No relevant documents identified. 01/06/2012 0

Landauer Client (site) List No relevant documents identified. 05/02/2012 0

National Archives and Records Administration 

(NARA) - Atlanta

Shipments and receipts documents, health aspects of the preparation of 

powdered uranium, dust samples, weekly production reports, thorium related 

correspondence, monthly accountability and progress reports, radiation 

surveys, standardization of medical programs, and a trip report.

05/12/2010 59

National Archives and Records Administration 

(NARA) - College Park

Beryllium surveys, NIOSH data review notes, powder metallurgy work at 

Metal Hydrides involving uranium and thorium powders.

08/19/2010 5

National Archives and Records Administration 

(NARA) - Kansas City

Decontamination history, historical review of Ventron, radiological survey, 

and TLD reports.

07/16/2008 9

National Institute for Occupational Safety and 

Health (NIOSH)

List of articles on thorium. 11/24/2009 1

New York State Archives Process Development Branch minutes reports. 03/21/2012 1

ORAU Team Dingell notebook containing various documents. 04/19/2012 3

ORO Vault List of papers on uranium. 11/24/2003 1

S. Cohen & Associates (SC&A) Description of uranium producing processes. 06/24/2010 1

Southern Illinois University Minerals yearbook and disposal of radioactive waste. 10/29/2008 3
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Table A1-1: Data Capture Synopsis for Ventron Corporation

Data Capture Information General Description of Documents Captured Date Completed Uploaded

To SRDB

Unknown Contract W-7405 Eng-8, decontamination and decommissioning review of 

Manhattan District history, disposal of offsite-generated defense radioactive 

waste, uranium processing operations, history and physical examination 

information, monthly production reports, trip reports, ORAU Project 

spreadsheet, radiological surveys, and a uranium - thorium branch semi-annual 

report to Congress.

10/24/2003 32

Unknown / SC&A Medical information taken at Metal Hydrides. 09/11/2002 1

US Army Corp of Engineering (USACE) No relevant documents identified. 04/19/2012 0

TOTAL 382

Table A1-2: Databases Searched for Ventron Corporation

Database/Source Keywords / Phrases Hits Selected

NOTE: Database search terms employed for each of the databases listed below are 

available in the Excel file called “Ventron Corporation Rev 01 (83 13) 05-23-12”

Defense Technical Information Center 

(DTIC)

https://www.dtic.mil/

COMPLETED 04/19/2012

See Note above 205 0

DOE CEDR

http://cedr.lbl.gov/

COMPLETED 04/18/2012

See Note above 0 0

DOE Hanford DDRS

http://www2.hanford.gov/declass/

COMPLETED 01/06/2012

See Note above 0 0

DOE Legacy Management Considered 

Sites

http://csd.lm.doe.gov/

COMPLETED 01/06/2012

See Note above 14 4
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51 of 52 

Table A1-2: Databases Searched for Ventron Corporation

Database/Source Keywords / Phrases Hits Selected

DOE NNSA - Nevada Site Office

www.nv.doe.gov/main/search.htm

COMPLETED 01/06/2012

See Note above 0 0

DOE OpenNet

http://www.osti.gov/opennet/advancedsear

ch.jsp

COMPLETED 01/06/2012

See Note above 0 0

DOE OSTI Energy Citations

http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/

COMPLETED 01/06/2012

See Note above 112 0

DOE OSTI Information Bridge

http://www.osti.gov/bridge/advancedsearch

.jsp

COMPLETED 01/06/2012

See Note above 104 8

Google

http://www.google.com

COMPLETED 01/29/2012

See Note above 141,926 26

HP Journal

http://journals.lww.com/healthphysics/pages/default.aspx

COMPLETED 04/18/2012

See Note above 0 0

Journal of Occupational and 

Environmental Health 

http://www.ijoeh.com/index.php/ijoeh

COMPLETED 04/18/2012

See Note above 0 0

National Academies Press

http://www.nap.edu/

COMPLETED 01/06/2012

See Note above 8,077 0

NRC ADAMS Reading Room

http://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/adams/web-based.html

COMPLETED 04/19/2012

See Note above 54 5

USACE/FUSRAP

http://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/fusrap/

COMPLETED 01/06/2012

See Note above 0 0
SEC-00198 08-14-12 Ventron Corporation 

52 of 52 

Table A1-2: Databases Searched for Ventron Corporation

Database/Source Keywords / Phrases Hits Selected

U.S. Transuranium & Uranium Registries 

http://www.ustur.wsu.edu/

COMPLETED 01/06/2012

See Note above 0 0

Table A1-3: OSTI Documents Requested for Ventron Corporation

Document Number Document Title Requested

Date

Received

Date

No documents requested.