RADIATION PROTECTION 757 CONCLUSIONS The Federal Bureau of Mines has no authority to enter a noncoal mine without the consent of the operator, unless the mine is on Government-owned or Governmentcontrolled property. The Bureau's work is largely educational; safety inspections and dust, ventilation, and gas surveys usually are made at the request of a mine operator or other interested persons. Suggestions for correcting any hazards that are noted by the inspector are made in the form of recommendations only and do not have the force of law. Uranium mining can be made safe, and it is believed that the following actions should achieve this end; 1. Adequate mechanical ventilation should be provided so that the radiation level at any working place does not exceed 300 micromicrocuries of total radon daughters per liter of air and the atmosphere is kept free from harmful quantities of gases and dusts. 2. Stringent dust-control measures for preventing or allaying harmful quantities of airborne dusts should include wet drilling, the generous use of water on muck piles during loading, and the wetting down of working places. In mines where trackless loading and haulage equipment stir up much dust, good results can be attained by applying calcium chloride to the mine floor. 3. Adequate support should be provided for loose ground. 4. Surface fire protection commensurate with the value of the buildings and their contents should be provided, and water for fire protection should be available throughout the mine. 5. Safeguards should be provided for mechanical equipment, and all equipment should be maintained in good repair. 6. Explosives should be stored and handled properly. 7. All concerned should be familiar with State regulations and should adhere to them. 8. All employees should be trained until competent to do their work in a safe manner, and only competent safety-minded supervisors should be employed. 9. Goggles, protective clothing, and Bureau of Mines approved respirators should be available and used when needed. 10. First-aid training and first-aid material should be provided, as well as a continuing safety program. 11. Good personal hygiene should be practiced by all workers. Daily baths and frequent change of work clothes are recommended. Eating and storing food in the mine should not be permitted. 12. All new employees should be given thorough physical examinations (including laboratory analyses of blood and urine and chest X-rays). Previous occupational and medical histories should be obtained. Follow-up medical examinations should be made annually. 758 RADIATION PROTECTION 13. Everyone engaged in uranium mining from top management down to miners should have a general knowledge of the radiation hazard and should know how to protect their fellow workers and themselves. REFERENCES AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. A Practical Approach to Uranium Mining Safety. Summary of Meeting of Advisory Committee on Health Hazards in Uranium ANONSEN, S. H. Radon Measurements in Warehouse and Box Cars Containing High ANUNDSEN, E. A. Problem of Accident Prevention at Small Metal Mines. Bureau AYER, H. E. Control of Radon and Its Daughter Products in Mines by Ventilation. AEC Doc. AECU-2858, Oak Ridge, Tenn., 1954, 21 pp. BALE, W. F. Hazards Associated with Radon and Thoron. AEC Project Memo., BLOY, H. Controlling Radioactivity at the Eldorado Mining and Refining CIPRIANI, A. J., Radiation Hazards in Uranium Mining. Canadian Min. Jour., Investigations COLEMAN, R. D., KUSNETZ, H. L., WOOLRICH, P. F., AND HOLADAY, D. A. on the Supplemental Control of Radon and Radon Daughter Hazards in Mine Atmospheres. Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. Quart., vol. 17, No. 4, 1956, pp. 405-410. COWPER, G., AND SIMPSON, S. D. The Determination of Radon Concentrations in Air. Nuclear Sci. Abs., vol. 9, 1955, p. 809. CRAWFORD, JOHN E. AND PAONE, JAMES. Facts Concerning Uranium Exploration and DARE, W. L., LINDBLOM, R. A., AND SOULÉ, J. H. Uranium Mining on the Colorado DI GIOVANNI, H. J., HARRIS, W. B., AND LEVINE, H. D. A Device for the Measurement of Integrated Radon in the Field. Nuclear Sci. Abs., vol. 9, 1955, p. 370. DOUBROW, S. Lung Cancer of Industrial Origin. Abs. from Paris Medicine, vol. 1, Mar. 21, 1931, p. 287, in Jour. Am. Medical Assoc., vol. 97, 1931, p. 66. DOYLE, H. N. Uranium Mining and Milling vol. 13, March 1953, pp. 37-46. A Current Study. Occupational Health, Radiation Hazards in Uranium Mining. Paper presented at the Western Min. Cong., Denver, Colo., Feb. 7-9, 1957, 8 pp. DOYLE, HENRY N., AND FLINN, ROBERT H. Silicosis Research. Paper presented at Am. Mín. Cong., Los Angeles, Calif., Oct. 4, 1956, 4 PP. RADIATION PROTECTION 759 EISENBUD, M., AND QUIGLEY, J. A. Industrial Hygiene of Uranium Processing. EVANS, R. D. AND GOODMAN, CLARK. Determination of the Thoron Content of Air and Its Bearing on Lung Cancer Hazards in Industry. Jour. Ind. Hyg. and Toxicology, vol. 22, 1940, p. 89. GRIEVE, G. G. Progress in Preventing Falls of Ground Accidents. Paper prepared HARRIS, S. J. Radon Levels Found in Mines in New York State. Archives Ind. HOLADAY, D. A. Health Aspect of Radon Exposures. Paper prepared for Min. HOLADAY, D. A., DAVID, W. D., AND DOYLE, H. N. An Interim Report of a Health Study of Uranium Mines and Mills. Paper prepared by Pub. Health Service and Colo. State Dept. Health, May 1952, 17 pp. HUEPER, W. C. The Role of Environmental Agents in the Causation of Human Cancer. Paper presented before 4th International Cong. on Cancer Research, St. Louis, Mo., Sept. 8, 1947, 19 pp. Jan. 1, INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION OF UTAH, (Order pertaining to acceptable concentration of radon and daughter products in mine air and method of monitoring.) 1956, 1 p. JECH, C. Retention of Radon Decay Products in Human Lungs. Am. Medical Assoc., Archives Ind. Health, vol. 13, May 1956, pp. 475-479. KUSNETZ, H. L. Radon Daughters in Mine Atmospheres A Field Method for Determining Concentrations, Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. Quart., vol. 17, March 1956, pp. 85-88. LORENZ, E. Radioactivity and Lung Cancer; A Critical Review of Lung Cancer in the Miners of Schneeberg and Joachimsthal. Jour. Nat. Cancer Inst., vol. 5, 1944, p. 1. MILLER, S. E., HOLADAY, D. A., AND DOYLE, H. N. Health Protection of Uranium MOORE AND KITHIL. A Preliminary Report on Uranium, Radium, and Vanadium. MORKEN, D. A. Acute Toxicity of Radon. Am. Medical Assoc., Archives Ind. Health, vol. 12, October 1955, pp. 435-438. MORRILL, E. E., JR. Radioactive Dust and Gas in the Uranium Mines of Utah. NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS. Safe Handling of Radioactive Luminous Compound. Handbook H. 27, 1941, p. 9. 760 RADIATION PROTECTION PARSONS, C. L., MOORE, R. B., LIND, S. C., AND SCHAFER, 0. c. Extraction and SEVEN-STATE URANIUM MINING CONFERENCE ON HEALTH HAZARDS. Proc., Salt Lake City, Utah, Feb. 22-23, 1955, 104 pp. SHAPIRO, J. Radiation Dosage from Breathing Radon and Its Daughter Products. TELEKY, L. Occupational Cancer of the Lung. Jour. Ind. Hyg. and Toxicology, vol. 19, 1937, p. 73. TORREY, J. D. Uranium Operations on the Colorado Plateau. Min. and Contracting Rev., vol. 57, June 1955, pp. 10, 14. TORREY, J. D., AND JACOE, P. W. Uranium Operations on the Colorado Plateau: Trans. 7th Ann. Meeting Am. Conf. Govt. Ind. Hyg., Buffalo, N. Y., April 1955, pp. 78-81. Uranium Mining Operations on the Colorado Plateau. Am. Medical Assoc., Archives Ind. Health, vol. 12, October 1955, pp. 375-377. TRASKO, VIRGINIA. Some Facts on the Prevalence of Silicosis in the United States. Am. Medical Assoc., Archives Ind. Health, vol. 14, October 1956, pp. 379-386. TSIVOGLOU, E. C. Evaluation and Control of Health Hazards in the Uranium Mining Industry. Am. Medical Assoc., Archives Ind. Health, vol. 14, July 1956, pp. 69-76. TSIVOGLOU, E. C., AND AYER, H. E. Emmanation of Radon in Uranium Mines and Control by Ventilation. Archives Ind. Hyg., vol. 8, No. 2, August 1953, pp. 125-132. TSIVOGLOU, E. C., AYER, H. E., AND HOLADAY, D. A. Atmospheric Mixtures of Radon and Its Daughters. pp. 40-45. Occurrence of Nonequilibrium UNITED STATES ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION AND UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE. Control of Radon and Daughters in Uranium Mines and Calculations on Biological Effects. Public Health Service Pub. 494, 1957, 81 pp. VOEGTLIN, CARL, AND HODGE, HAROLD C. (EDITORS). Pharmacology and Toxicology of Uranium Compounds with a Section on the Pharmacology and Toxicology of Fluorine and Hydrogen Fluoride. 1949, 1084 pp. WRIGHT, ROBERT J. What the Uranium Prospector Should Know About Radiation. YOURT, G. R. Sampling for Radioactivity in Uranium Mines. Canadian Min. Jour., As extended by your invitation of March 24, it is a pleasure to have the opportunity of presenting a resume of our activities in application of radiation protection standards to our nuclear merchant ship program, Construction of the first nuclear powered merchant ship, the N.S. SAVANNAH, is the joint responsibility of the Maritime Administration and the Atomic Energy Commission. The vessel, now nearing completion at Camden, N. J., is expected to start-up and begin initial operation within the next few months. Kisting radiation standards, and the considered decisions of responsible bodies, have been applied as the design basis for radiation protection in construction of the SAVANNAH. Design criteria for radiation protection was established to meet the requirements of Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, and the recommendations of the National Committee on Radiation Protection for external and internal exposure of occupational workers and the public in the vicinity of reactor operation. In the absence of an international agreement for the disposal of reactor wastes in the open ocean, such as the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences, Report Number 658, the SAVANNAH has been designed to retain all liquid and solid wastes aboard ship for subsequent removal, processing and disposal by means of a special servicing barge and shore facilities. Details of our specific interests, in the current review of radiation criteria and standards, are given in the enclosed summary report prepared by our Office of Research and Development. Tholosure Sincerely yours, Waze Walter C. Ford Acting Maritime Administrator |