DOE Review 03/13/2014 

Document Number: Battelle-TBD-6000 -

Division of Compensation 

Support

Analysis and Appendix R

Effective Date: 03/20/2014

Revision No. 1

Site Profiles for 

Uranium Metals

Atomic Weapons Employers that Worked Page 1 of 5

Appendix R – Aluminum Company of America -

(ALCOA-PA)

Pennsylvania 

Document Owner: David Allen

Approval: Signature on file Date: _03/20/2014 

 J.W. Neton, Associate Director for Science

Supersedes: None

RECORD OF ISSUE/REVISIONS

ISSUE 

AUTHORIZATION 

DATE

9/8/2008

EFFECTIVE 

DATE

9/8/2008

REV. NO. 

0

DESCRIPTION

Appendix to Battelle-TBD-6000 describing 

the use of the TBD for uranium exposures at 

ALCOA-Pennsylvania

02/27/2014 03/20/2014 1 Revised to incorporate changes made during 

the revision of the base document TBD-6000. 

Revisions include changes to external dose 

value from contaminated surfaces, 

conversion factor for photon and beta dose 

rates, and intakes from resuspension. 

Additionally, job classes were eliminated, 

OTIB-70 depletion factor used during 

residual period, slug production dose rates 

match Table 6.4 of TBD-6000, and minor 

editorial changes.

ALUMINUM COMPANY OF AMERICA - PENNSYLVANIA 

R.1 Introduction 

This document serves as an appendix to Battelle-TBD-6000, Site Profiles for Atomic 

Weapons Employers that Worked Uranium Metals. This appendix describes the results 

of document research specific to this site. Where specific information is lacking, 

research into similar facilities described in the body of this Site Profile is used. 
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R.2 Site Description

The Atomic Weapons Employer Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) had one site 

located in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. The facility was also known as Aluminum 

Research Laboratories; or the New Kensington Works (of ALCOA) on Pine and 9th 

Streets. It is listed as an Atomic Weapons Employer from 1943 through 1945 (DOE Web 

site). ALCOA was one of 14 facilities in the early 1940s that produced nuclear fuel for

the X-10 pilot plant reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and the production reactors at 

Hanford, Washington. The work was conducted in two buildings (#29 and #44) both of 

which are still standing with relatively little remodeling. (Young, 1987)

R.2.1 Site Activities

ALCOA used a unique welding process to "can" and seal uranium slugs produced by 

other facilities. Initiated in the spring of 1943, the work preceded under 15 purchase 

orders that resulted in the canning of approximately 100,000 slugs through 1945. Actual 

machining of uranium metal was apparently limited to experimental machine shop and 

laboratory situations. (Young, 1987)

R.3 Occupational Medical Dose

No information regarding occupational medical dose specific to ALCOA-PA was found. 

Information to be used in dose reconstructions for which no specific information is 

available is provided in ORAUT-OTIB-0006 (ORAU 2011), the dose reconstruction 

project technical information bulletin covering diagnostic x-ray procedures.

R.4 Occupational Internal Dose

No data were found in the Site Research database related to occupational internal dose 

during AEC work. The work performed at ALCOA-PA involved canning uranium slugs. 

Therefore, the internal doses are derived using air concentration values in the TBD for 

"Slug Production and Canning.”

Table R.1 presents these intake estimates in pCi per calendar day to be used for each 

calendar year listed. 

R.5 Occupational External Dose

No data were found in the Site Research database related to occupational external dose 

during AEC work. The work performed at ALCOA-PA involved canning uranium slugs. 

Therefore, the external dose values in the TBD for "Slug Production and Canning" will 

be used.

Table R.2 presents these external dose estimates for each calendar year listed. 

R.6 Dose from Residual Contamination

A FUSRAP survey of ALCOA-PA was conducted on November 12, 1991. The survey 

consisted of direct readings of gamma, alpha and beta-gamma levels and dust samples for 

radionuclide analysis. The results demonstrated no measured levels above DOEFUSRAP guidelines and radionuclide distributions were not significantly different from 

typical background levels for the area. Therefore, no exposure to residual contamination 
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is assumed after 1991. (Foley and Brown, 1992). A potential exists, however, for

exposure due to residual contamination between 1946 and 1991 (NIOSH 2011).

Internal and external exposure estimates for the residual contamination period are based 

on the airborne levels from section R.4. The value was used to calculate the surface 

contamination using the technique in section 3.4.2 of the TBD. From this contamination, 

the inhalation intake was estimated using techniques from section 7.1.5 and the external 

dose was estimated using the conversion factors in section 3.4.2. The ingestion values 

used the ingestion value at the end of the operational period.

Each of these values were decreased throughout the residual contamination period 

utilizing techniques from ORAUT-OTIB-0070. The intake values and external dose 

values for each year are contained in tables R.1 and R2 respectively.

R.7 References

DOE web site, Department of Energy, Office of Health, Safety and Security, Find a Facility 

website, http://hsspublic.energy.gov/search/facility/findfacility.aspx

Foley and Brown, 1992. Results of the Radiological Survey at the former ALCOA New 

Kensington Works, Pine and Ninth Streets, New Kensington, Pennsylvania, R.D. Foley and K.S. 

Brown, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, October 1992. ORNL/RASA-92/5 (SRDB #16445).

NIOSH 2011, Report on Residual Radioactive and Beryllium Contamination at Atomic Weapons 

Employer Facilities and Beryllium Vendor Facilities, NIOSH, August 2011. 

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas/pdfs/tbd/rescon/rcontam0811.pdf

.

ORAU 2011, Dose Reconstruction from Occupational Medical X-Ray Procedures, ORAUTOTIB-0006 revision 3PC-1, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, June 20, 2011.

Young, 1987. Letter to Wallo, Recommendation For Site Visit Aluminum Company of America 

Site New Kensington, Pennsylvania, Charles D. Young, The Aerospace Corporation, November 

18, 1987 (SRDB #9557, pp 8-10)
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Table R.1 INTERNAL DOSE PATHWAYS - Inhalation and Ingestion of Uranium

All intakes assume full-time employment for the given year.

Values represent the geometric mean of a lognormal distribution with a geometric standard 

deviation of 5

Year

Operation

Phase

Inhalation

(pCi/d)

Ingestion

(pCi/d) GSD

TBD Reference or 

Research Justification

1943-1945 Operations 710 15 5

Table 7.8 and 7.9 slug 

production

1946 Residual 1.38 15 5 See text

1947 Residual 1.08 12 5 See text

1948 Residual 0.85 9.20 5 See text

1949 Residual 0.66 7.20 5 See text

1950 Residual 0.52 5.64 5 See text

1951 Residual 0.41 4.42 5 See text

1952 Residual 0.32 3.46 5 See text

1953 Residual 0.25 2.71 5 See text

1954 Residual 0.20 2.12 5 See text

1955 Residual 0.15 1.66 5 See text

1956 Residual 0.12 1.30 5 See text

1957 Residual 0.09 1.02 5 See text

1958 Residual 0.07 0.80 5 See text

1959 Residual 0.06 0.62 5 See text

1960 – 1969 Residual 0.04 0.49 5 See text

1970 – 1979 Residual 0.0039 0.042 5 See text

1980 – 1991 Residual 0.00034 0.0037 5 See text
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Table R.2 EXTERNAL DOSE PATHWAYS

All DOSES assume full-time employment for the given year.

Values represent the geometric mean of a lognormal distribution with a geometric standard 

deviation of 5

OPERATION PERIOD

Year

Photon

(mr/yr)

Skin

(rad/yr)

Hand & 

Forearms

(rad/yr) GSD

TBD Reference or 

Research Justification

1943-1945 2500 25 276 5

Table 6.4 slug 

production

RESIDUAL PERIOD

Year

Photon

(mr/yr)

Skin

(mrad/yr)

Skin

(mrad/yr) GSD

TBD Reference or 

Research Justification

1946 0.364 35.3 35.3 5 See text

1947 0.285 27.6 27.6 5 See text

1948 0.223 21.6 21.6 5 See text

1949 0.175 16.9 16.9 5 See text

1950 0.137 13.3 13.3 5 See text

1951 0.107 10.4 10.4 5 See text

1952 0.084 8.1 8.1 5 See text

1953 0.066 6.4 6.4 5 See text

1954 0.051 5.0 5.0 5 See text

1955 0.040 3.9 3.9 5 See text

1956 0.032 3.1 3.1 5 See text

1957 0.025 2.4 2.4 5 See text

1958 0.019 1.9 1.9 5 See text

1959 0.015 1.5 1.5 5 See text

1960 – 1969 0.012 1.2 1.2 5 See text

1970 – 1979 0.001 0.10 0.10 5 See text

1980 – 1991 0.00009 0.009 0.009 5 See text