Response to Suspected Intakes

DOE-STD-1128-98

Guide of Good Practices for Occupational Radiological Protection in Plutonium Facilities

accidental intake of plutonium will allow for therapeutic measures to be taken to minimize the

internal contamination and lessen the potential for harmful effects. The health physicist and

medical staff should work closely to ensure that the proper course of action is followed.

All employees suspected of having received an intake of plutonium should be referred for special

bioassay measurements. Because a fraction of an intake by inhalation may be retained in an in the

nasal passages for a few hours after exposure to airborne radioactive materials, any level of

contamination on a nasal swab indicates an intake that should be followed up by a special bioassay

measurement program. However, lack of detection on nasal smears cannot be taken as evidence

that an intake did not occur either because the nasal passages can be expected to clear very rapidly

or, alternatively, because the worker could be a mouth-breather. Special bioassay should also be

initiated if plutonium contamination is found on the worker in an in the vicinity of nose or mouth.

For acute intakes, direct bioassay measurements should be taken before, during, and after the

period of rapid clearance of activity. Urine and fecal samples collected after known or suspected

inhalation incidents should also be used to estimate the magnitude of the intake. Initial assessment

of intakes from contaminated wounds are based primarily on wound count and urinalysis data.

If a significant intake is indicated, the worker should not return to further potential exposure to

plutonium until the intake has been thoroughly assessed and a predictable bioassay pattern

established. This is particularly important because a new intake of a very low level may confound

the interpretation of bioassay measurements for previous intakes of plutonium.

The health physicist must make important decisions for prompt action at the site of an accidental

or suspected intake of plutonium or other radioactive materials. Often, these decisions must be

based on limited data. Information that may be available for initially estimating the amount and

type of intake may include the following:

-- levels of measured contamination in an in the work area

-- skin contamination levels, affected areas, and whether the skin is damaged or punctured

-- wound contamination levels

-- chemical form of the material involved

-- results of air monitoring

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