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THESIS URANIUM CONTAMINATION VALUES and LIMITS Submitted By

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THESIS URANIUM CONTAMINATION VALUES and LIMITS Submitted By THESIS URANIUM CONTAMINATION VALUES AND LIMITS Submitted by Aaron Paul Miaullis Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Science Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Summer 2012 Master’s Committee: Advisor: Thomas Johnson Co-Advisor: Alexander Brandl Thomas Borch Copyright by Aaron Paul Miaullis, 2012 All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT URANIUM CONTAMINATION VALUES AND LIMITS Hypothesis: Current soil contamination limits for non-enriched uranium are not consistent and are not optimized to allow the beneficial use of uranium while protecting the health of the public. Objective: Assess available health impact data regarding non-enriched uranium ingestion and inhalation as well as past soil contamination recommendations to determine if the regulatory limits for uranium are optimized, as recommended by the ICRP. Provide supporting data for keeping current soil contamination limits for non-enriched uranium, or suggest new limits based upon chemical uptake ratios. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following persons for their help, guidance, mentoring, and support during the research and compilation of this paper: The Lord God My family: Maureen, Nicholas, Caitlin and Helena Miaullis My parents: J. Bart Miaullis and Laura White The United States Army Dr. Tom Johnson Dr. Alexander Brandl An additional thank you to the following people for providing their time and effort in obtaining and providing much needed reference material: LTC Andrew Scott, PhD, US Army MAJ(R) Carlos Corredor Steve Brown The Armour Archive Finally, thanks to the significant number of other individuals with whom I have conversed and discussed many additional points within this paper. You helped to provide clarity and direction when I needed it. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................ iii ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS .............................................. vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 6 Uranium Overview .................................................................................................... 10 Uranium Chemistry ................................................................................................... 13 Regulatory Oversight of Uranium .............................................................................. 14 Uranium Workers ...................................................................................................... 16 DATA, MATERIALS AND METHODS ...................................................................... 17 Overview of NRC Uranium Limits and Values .......................................................... 17 Natural Uranium .................................................................................................... 19 Non-enriched Uranium ........................................................................................... 23 Radiological Toxicity of Uranium ............................................................................. 29 Radon .................................................................................................................... 30 Uranium Radiation Dose ........................................................................................ 31 Chemical Toxicity of Uranium .................................................................................. 32 Biological Effects of Uranium ................................................................................... 33 Soluble vs. Insoluble .............................................................................................. 34 Physiology ............................................................................................................. 35 Inhalation and Aerosols .......................................................................................... 36 Ingestion ................................................................................................................ 38 Nephrotoxicity ....................................................................................................... 40 Uranium in Produce and Livestock ............................................................................ 41 Livestock and Livestock Feed ................................................................................ 42 Vegetables and Fruit .............................................................................................. 43 RESULTS ..................................................................................................................... 50 iv Trends in uranium limits since 1980 .......................................................................... 50 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................... 53 Calculation of Uranium Intake in Animal Models ...................................................... 53 Legal Aspects ............................................................................................................ 56 Financial Cost ............................................................................................................ 59 Suggested Uranium Soil Contamination Limits.......................................................... 61 CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................................... 64 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 67 APPENDIXES ............................................................................................................ 100 Appendix A: Cited files from the NRC regarding uranium ....................................... 100 Appendix B: U-233/234 Background and Soil Sample Values ................................. 121 Appendix C: U-235 Limits, Background and Soil Sample Values ............................ 122 Appendix D: U-236 Background, MDA and Soil Sample Values ............................. 124 v ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS a Alpha particle Accelerator Produced Radioactive material produced as the result of operating a Radioactive Material particle accelerator. ACGIH American Conference of Industrial Hygienists AEA Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended AEC Atomic Energy Commission American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial AFL/CIO Organizations, a national trade union Any state, territory, or possession of the United States that, by agreement with the NRC, has assumed regulatory Agreement State authority over byproduct, source, and certain small quantities of special nuclear material. ALARA As Low As Reasonably Achievable ALI Annual limit on intake AMAD Activity Median Aerodynamic Diameter Recurring, done, or performed every year (i.e. every 12 Annual months). The derived limit for the amount of radioactive material Annual Limit on Intake taken into the body of an adult worker by inhalation or ingestion in a year Anorexia Loss of appetite and inability to eat ANSI American National Standards Institute AOC Area of Concern ARC Alternate Release Criteria AFRRI Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute A principle of radiation protection philosophy that requires that exposures to ionizing radiation be kept as low as reasonably achievable, economic and social factors being As Low As Reasonably taken into account. The protection from radiation exposure Achievable is ALARA when the expenditure of further resources would be unwarranted by the reduction in exposure that would be achieved. ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials ATSDR Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry BEIR reports Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation Report vi BKG Background Carnotite An uranium-vanadate ore CDE Committed dose equivalent CEDE Committed effective dose equivalent CFR Code of Federal Regulations Class D Clearance half-times of less than 10 days. Class W Clearance half-times of 10 to 100 days Class Y Clearance half-time of over 100 days Coffinate An uranium silicate, a common uranium ore. Ratio of uranium in the leaves of plants eaten by Concentration Ratio herbivores or omnivores (usually 10%) cpm counts per minute CR Concentration Ratio Creatinine A useful biomarker for depleted uranium uptake D&D Decontamination and decommissioning DAC Derived air concentration DCGL Derived concentration guideline level DCGL (Elevated Measurement Comparison). Used for DCGL (EMC) small areas of elevated activity DCGL (weighted). Used for average concentrations over a DCGL(w) wide area DF Dose factor DoD Department of Defense DOE Department of Energy DOL Department of Labor DOT Department of Transportation DP Decommissioning Plan DU Depleted uranium EMC Elevated measurement comparison Environmental The mission of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is Protection Agency to protect human health and the environment EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency vii Flesh to Whole Body The concentration of uranium in the flesh (not bones) to Ratio the concentration of uranium in the whole body FUSRAP Formally utilized
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