Plutonium releases from the 1957 fire at Rocky Flats

Journal Article · Tue Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1996 · Health Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1097/00004032-199610000-00009· OSTI ID:390961

Mongan, T R; Ripple, S R ^[1]; Brorby, G P ^[2]

---

1. McLaren/Hart Environmental Engineering, Inc., Alameda, CA (United States)
2. Geomatrix Consultants, Inc., San Francisco CA (United States)

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment sponsored a study to reconstruct contaminant doses to the public from the Rock Flats nuclear weapons plant. This analysis of the September 1957 fire in a plutonium fabrication building that breached the building air filtration system is part of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment study. The plutonium release from this fire is estimated using environmental data collected around the time of the fire and an air dispersion model. The approximate upper bound on the total plutonium release from the fire is 1.9 GBq (0.05 Ci), with an uncertainty of about two orders of magnitude. Off-site air concentrations and deposition of plutonium resulting from the approximate upper-bound release are estimated. The highest predicted off-site effective dose resulting from the approximate upper-bound release is about 13 {mu}Sv (1.3 mrem).

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 390961
• Journal Information: Health Physics, Journal Name: Health Physics Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 71; ISSN HLTPAO; ISSN 0017-9078
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
AIR
EMISSION
FIRES
HUMAN POPULATIONS
PLUTONIUM
PUBLIC HEALTH
RADIATION ACCIDENTS
RADIATION DOSES
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
ROCKY FLATS PLANT