University of Cincinnati Study: Fernald U Processing Plant Was Significant Source of Radon Exposure

These workers at Fernald, located about 60 miles from where I grew up, were exposed to radon from uranium ore, the same stuff that's hauled away from uranium mines...the same stuff that will be hauled from Coles' Hill if it's mined. VUI keeps saying that freshly mined uranium isn't dangerous. SCC keeps saying that the radon (and its progeny) released by freshly mined uranium is very dangerous. This article seems to add credence to SCC's position.

Thursday, October 23, 2008 -

University of Cincinnati scientists say that a recent scientific study of the now-closed Fernald uranium processing plant near Cincinnati has identified a second, potentially more significant source of radon exposure for former workers.

The source — six silos filled with uranium ore in the production area — resulted in relatively high levels of radon exposure to 12 percent of the workers. More than half of the workers were exposed to low levels of radon while working at the site.

“Our findings have scientific and political ramifications,” Susan Pinney, corresponding author of the study, said in a UC press release. “Now we know workers in the plant’s production area prior to 1959 may be at increased risk for developing lung cancer and other exposure-related health problems.”

Third-shift plant workers were most affected, during some years being exposed to three times more harmful radon gas than workers on other shifts, according to the UC study. Researchers say the elevated exposure was the result of decreased air movement and less dispersion of radon gas during the night.

Pinney and Richard Hornung recently their findings in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology. It’s the first time on-site radon exposure at the plant has been quantified in workers.

A previous study identified two silos, known by the code name “K-65,” as the only source of radon exposure. The silos were located on the west side of the U.S. Department of Energy Uranium Processing Plant in Fernald.

The Fernald site, in Crosby Township, has since undergone a $4.4 billion cleanup and is now a nature preserve.

“Our original intention was to develop and validate radon exposure estimates for the K-65 silos,” Hornung said. “But when we studied radon tracks on film placed on window glass in the Fernald plant, we found evidence of a second, previously unidentified radon source.”

UC researchers traced the radon to six silos, known by the code name “Q-11,” centrally located near a major production area. The silos were originally used to store high-grade uranium ore and later held by-products from the ore chemical separation process known as raffinate.

“The initial site review conducted by the federal government overlooked the Q-11 silos as a source of radon emissions,” Hornung said. “This second source of radon dominates the total radon exposure from both sources during the period of 1952 to 1958 for workers near the Q-11 silos. Our study revealed that a small number of Fernald workers’ cumulative radon exposures were in the range of underground uranium miners.”

According to company records, 7,143 people worked at the uranium processing plant between 1952 and the plant’s closing in 1989.

This research was funded by the U.S. Public Health Service, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Several medical screening programs are available to former Fernald workers.

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/10/20/daily47.html