Hazards ahead: Managing cleanup worker health and safety at the nuclear weapons complex. Background paper

Technical Report · Mon Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:6525251

Cold War nuclear weapons production has left a legacy of environmental contamination that is unprecented in scope and complexity. The Department of Energy has begun cleaning up pollution at the Nuclear Weapons Complex (NWC)--an expensive, decades-long task that will require a workforce numbering tens of thousands of scientists, technicians, and laborers. Protecting their health and safety must be a major goal of the cleanup effort. Achieving the goal will require DOE to successfully confront significant technical and managerial challenges, but it also poses a unique opportunity to advance state-of-the-art occupational health and safety technologies and practices. The report provides an evaluation of environmental restoration and waste management at the DOE Nuclear Weapons Complex. It examines risks workers might face in cleaning up contamination at the complex and evaluates the effectiveness of DOE's occupational safety and health programs for cleanup workers.

• Research Organization: Office of Technology Assessment (U.S. Congress), Washington, DC (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6525251
• Report Number(s): PB-93-163368/XAB; OTA-BP--0-85
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Management
054000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320305* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Industrial & Agricultural Processes-- Industrial Waste Management
ANIMALS
CLEANING
COMPLIANCE
CONTAMINATION
DECONTAMINATION
ENERGY
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
EVALUATION
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
LAWS
MAMMALS
MAN
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR ENERGY
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
PERSONNEL
PHYSICAL PROTECTION DEVICES
POLLUTION
POLLUTION LAWS
PRIMATES
PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL
REGULATIONS
REMEDIAL ACTION
RESOURCE CONSERVATION
RISK ASSESSMENT
SAFETY
SCIENTIFIC PERSONNEL
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TOXIC MATERIALS
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
US SUPERFUND
VERTEBRATES
WEAPONS