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During unusual surface conditions,
plutonium

aerosol

activity

(normalized

well. The corresponding
agree
3.10 on Bikini Island.

such as immediately after tilling,
by

enhancement

means

of

the

enhancement

factor)

also

factors were 4.41 on Engebi Island and

Plutonium resuspension fluxes due to continuous wind erosion and resuspension
were estimated for Bikini by a meteorological flux-gradient equation to be a
minimum of 0.49 pCi m-z year ‘1 in the coconut grove and 6.3 pCi m-2 year-l over a
bare field stabilized by light rain. Since fields do not remain unvegetated for
more than a few months, the coconut grove resuspension flux is probably representative of the Island as a whole, even though the wind speeds are one-fourth
as high in the coconut grove canopy as in the open.

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Particle size distributions measured by both optical and cascade impactor
methods show that over the rain-stabilized bare field, the total aerosol size
distribution is log-normal with median aerodynamic diameter of 2.44 urnand
geometric standard deviation of 3.0, but there is no significant size difference
between aerosol plutonium activity and aerosol mass concentration,
During the
unusual condition of tilling, the size distribution significantly shifts from
a median aerodynamic diameter of 2.44 urnto about 2.0 wm with a concurrent
increase in plutonium enhancement factor from less than one to 3.1 on Bikini
(4.4 on Engebi) and an increase in the pulmonary respirable-fraction from O.19
to 0.24.
In the case of a soil disturbed by tilling on Bikini, the plutonium
concentration increased by a factor of 19.1 due to a 3.23 x increase in enhancement factor and a 5.91 x increase in dust aerosol concentrations.
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Vehicular traffic produced dust pulses of nominal 10 s duration in a 4.5 m
S-l wind, which were log-normally distributed having time-averaged concentrations
above background of 28 vg m-3 less than 50% of the time and 211 ~g m-3 less than
5% of the time.
(Peak concentrations were a factor of 3.6 higher. ) The plutonium
enhancement factors for vehicular traffic was 2.5. Foot and bicycle traffic
produced dust pulses about one-fourth as large as vehicular traffic.
Personal dosimetry showed that under various exposure conditions, workers
inhaled different fractions of inorganic dust and salt, while the organic fraction
remained constant at about 10%. Consequently, a personal dosimeter enhancement
factor was defined to express the effect a worker has by stirring up dust in his
own immediate environment.
As a result, pulmonary deposition of plutonium could
be calculated for various exposure conditions as determined by inhalation rate,
aerosol dust concentration, plutonium activity in soil, plutonium enhancement
factor, personal dosimeter enhancement factor, and the pulmonary respirablefraction.
Under the worst case (during tilling), pulmonary deposition was 1476
aCi h-l, and in the best case (light
work in a coconut
grove), it was 12 aCi h-l.
Intermediate cases were for heavy outdoor work (139 aCi h-l) and for light work
in and around houses (78 aCi h-]). Walking along a road produced an exposure
of 1.58 aCi h-l above background for one vehicular pass per hour. But even
with a worst case exposure scenario for 30 years, the lung dose and bone dose
Federal Radiation Guidelines.
due to inhalation on Bikini are well below present
,.
In conclusion, this study
has been the most comprehensive to date, in providing the key parameters for inhalation dose assessment of exposure to plutonium

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