METHODS OF HANDLING AND LAUNDERING BERYLLIUM-CONTAMINATED GARMENTS

Technical Report · Mon Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1963

OSTI ID:4663680

Cohen, J J

In beryllium industries, it has been the general practice to supply workers with protective clothing. Problems in handling and laundering this clothing were investigated. These problems include: potential hazard to laundry workers and subsequent wearers of the clothing, special laundering techniques, methods to determine the degree of contamination on garments, and determining the most desirable types of garments for the purpose. Four methods to determine the degree of contamination discussed include the shake test, the vacuum test, the rinse test, and the smear test. Assuming conventional laundering procedures have been used, the potential hazard to subsequent wearers of the garment is minimal. Standards for determining adequacy of laundry are suggested. These ar 0.1 mu g Be/cm/sup 2/ as determined by the vacuum test, or 200 mu g Be/garment as determined by the rinse test. Possible hazard to those handling contaminated garments could be significant. This hazard is best controlled simply by use of wet methods. Included in this report is the summary of a survey conducted to determine how these problems are handled in other beryllium industries. (auth)

• Research Organization: California. Univ., Livermore. Lawrence Radiation Lab.
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• NSA Number: NSA-17-032291
• OSTI ID: 4663680
• Report Number(s): UCRL-7311; CONF-84-1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

BERYLLIUM
CLEANING
CLOTHING
CONTROL
HEALTH AND SAFETY
PERFORMANCE
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
QUANTITY RATIO
SAFETY
STANDARDS
TESTING
TOXICITY
VACUUM
VIBRATIONS
WATER