Evening star., 1949-01-30
Safe Disposal Assured
For Radioactive Waste
In Atomic Program
By Froncis P. DouaIos

III AIVlIIII IiVyIuM
By Froneis P. DoueIos
David E. LilienthHl, chairman ol
the Atomic Energy Commission, has
warned Americans that they will
have to learn to live with radiation
and to keep our shirts on" and not
get "hysterical' over the problem OF
disposing of radioactive wastes.
Mr.. LilienthaLs statement was
made at seminar early last week
A digest Of the proceedings made
public last night said the meeting
was attended by about 40 State anc
city officials concerned with water
supply, sanitary engineering anc
sewage disposal, and representatives
of Government agencies co-operat-
ing with the Acc In disposal OF
radioactive waste materials.
The seminar discussion was con-
cerned chiefly with protection Of
water supplies, air and food from
the radiation of the wastes from
the atomic energy program.
Present Controls Cited.
Present controls are keeping
radioactive contamination vel
within the bounds of safety, it wa.
brought out. 1t was predicted thai
sanitary engineers and water ane
sewage plant operators in the fu.
ture would protect their commu'
mites from radioactive wastes JUS
as they now fight air and watel
pollution of other types.
DR.. Shields Warren, director Of
the Aces division of biology and
medicine, said the problems are
not unknown hazards" The prime
objective of the radioactive waste
disposal program, he said, is to
prevent radioactive materials being
absorbed by human bodies.
This absorption may be in two
general ways, he explained: Exter-
nally, as from an X-ray tube OF
from an atomic pile, and internally
through the materials entering the
lungs or olgeStlVe tract.
Precautions Utilized.
ITO the best Of our knoledge," he
said, the precautions being. utilized
at the atomic energy sites are CIV
ing adequate protection"
! He said it is possible to detect
radioactivity at levels far below
those dangerous to humans. Ex-
perience has shown that most in
dividuals can withstand a daily does
of Roentgen without apparent
injury. The Roentgen is the unit
used in measuring X-rays and
gamma radiation. To be on the
safe side doctors set at i Roentgen
a day the permissible limit for con-
tinuous exposure. A diagnostio
chest X-ray is equivalent to about
10 Roentgen, but, of course, it i
not undergone daily.
Arthur v. Peterson of the Acc
production division said that witt
the exception OF the Hanfort
(WashD atomic energy plant, th'
commissions plants could be bull
close to cities. That at Oak Ridge
Tenn. he said, could be built il
the middle Of Washington so far a.
sanitation and safety disposal &C
tivities are concerned.
Water Cools Atomic Piles.
At the Hanford plant water l.
taken from the Columbia River
treated to. remove impurities, ane
used to cool the atomic piles.
! "In passing through the pile
the water is subject to irradiatior
by neutrons and the remaining i'm.
purities become slightly active h.
said. The water containing thest
active impurities is allowed to cool
before being discharged into thu
river. All Of the operations are
. carefully monitored and the activity
level of the water discharged. to the
river is too low to cause injurious
effects either to the fish or to sub.
sequent users of the water below the
plant
DR.. Karl z. Morgan, director OF
the health physics division at Oak
Ridge, said that highly priced
waters from mineral springs in Vir-
ginia and a half dozen other states
are as much or more radioactive
than the water of the Clinch River
1t is into that river that fission pro-
duct liquid waste from Oak Ridge
passes ultimately after being al
lowed to decay" in underground
tanks.
The cooling of nuclear reactors by
air presents problems lest the all
become radioactive. The only all
cooled reactor now in operation is
at Oak Ridge while second is un.
der construction sat Brookhaven
Long Island.
Air IL Treated.
The air is treated to remove dust
which would pick up radioactive
charges At Brookhaven the air will
be discharged through a 30o-foot
stack and operations will be gov.
erned by weather conditions which
permit adequate dilution and dis.
persal of the air.
Before the installation Of decon-
taminating equipment for the ex-
haust air at Oak Ridge low amounts
Of radioactive iodine and other sub
stances were found in vegetation
many miles away. But it was con-
cluded no undue hazard had been
created:
DR.. Morgan said that the amount
Of radioactivity contributed from
all Oak Ridge operations to the sur
rounding atmosphere was less than
the added cosmic radiation to which
one is exposed in going from sea
level to Denver at 5000 feet eleva-
ton.