blowing at an open~faced ionization chamber across
Fiow
Sheet for the | A” Process
ST
l
|
the room, the subject could cause the needle to go
off-scale.
outrate toro
s
HE whiten
.
20594 soluhon
First Ouatate Residue
(~aO5% Pul
Remove wpe natant
Wain Cot fice eth #20
Cc.
Pu! 704'y oor
|
HNO, awuLon
.
NabrOy wlwhon
«
Heat
dens of plutonium worked on this operation.
Gr, OO.
the Purification Group) to oxide and then to flu-
|
oride prior to reduction to the metallic state.
Nal5440 2 Nato, luton
+ Hepernatans
Acetsle Aendur
Wash opt teece wih
NaPUOsICW09!4 pat
plutonium in batches of 160 grams and worked in
|
shifts around the clock.
HNO, solution
Slurries of plutonium oxalate (from step 5 or
. NH,NO, wiviron
Eateact with (CoH5) 40
+
Eatracton Resdue
L
Pu INO ah ether solution
6 in the wet purification procedure) were poured
(+0 5% Pul
into platinum boats and oxidized by baking in a tube
|
Reeatract PUD INO 515 into 4.0
furnace within a hood.
+ HI solution
+ H C30, whulton
carrted across the room to an ordinary analytical
}
Second Onalate Arndue
i~O BS)
balance also in a hood.
Wash pet once with yO
6.
After being weighed, these
boats were carried back to a tube furnace in one of
PugiC30,4!y opt I~ 97%)
Fig.
The uncovered boats, contain-
ing oxide in the form of a light green powder, were
Remove supernatant
Wash pot teece with HNO,
HCO, solution
ch
In
the spring and summer of 1945, these men handled
i~1 2% Pul
Nal 4,0 > NaNO5. HC5H405, wluteon
.
Their
job was to convert plutonium oxalate (prepared by
PLO JING gh wivhor
fe
Fluorination Operation
Three of the subjects with measurable body bur-
ra
.
This man is well today and did not have
a body burden of plutonium as measured by older
;
REKRKKKA KK KE
urine assay methods.
two large hoods with sliding glass doors and fired
.
:
Flow sheet for the purification operation.
3
in the presence of hydrogen fluoride gas and oxygen.
The plutonium fluoride was weighed and, if the conversion was not satisfactory, the fluorination pro-
be carried out in D Building until September 1945.
up
a~
Although this group handled 160-gram batches
of plutonium totaling 4.9 kg in May 1945, 5.69 kg
the Recovery Group.
The nature of the cperations
Plutonium tetrafluoride powder
finally was poured into a glass container, covered,
and passed on to the Reduction Group.
in June, 6.13 kg in July, and 9.2 kg in August, the
hazards to personnel were not as great as those in
The 3 men working in the fluorination ocperation could have been exposed to plutonium dust in
the form of oxalate, oxide, or fluoride.
Some expo-
{mainly decanting supematant solutions from pre-
sure presumably occurred while they were carrying or
cipitates) was such that they were quickly stand-
weighing the powdered plutonium even though respira-
ardized and carried out in relatively simple closed
systems.
The body burdens of the 3 subjects in
this group were consequently lower than those in
th
cedure was repeated.
the Recovery Group.
sures did occur.
Nevertheless, accidental expo-
In August 1944, a vial containing
10 mg of plutonium chloride in the +4 state exPploded while being opened and heavily contaminated
the face and mouth of a young chemist.
Although
tors were always worn.
Further exposure could have
occurred when the wooden hoods were decontaminated
(i.e., by scrubbing with scouring agents, painting,
etc.).
Fortunately, there were no serious accidents
such as dropping a boat in the open laboratory.
D.
Reduction Operation
Three of the subjects worked in the metal
the skin of the face was thoroughly scrubbed and
reduction operation.
the mouth thoroughly washed out, heavy contamina-
reducing plutonium fluoride to the metal, which was
tion of the face (estimated to be 1 vg) persisted
for several days.
alr,
From the ionization of expired
it was estimated that the level of contamina-
tion in the mouth was of the order of 10 Lg.
By
They developed the methods of
RERKEKRKEKKE
According to the most recent analysis by
J. Lawrence, this man dees have a measurable body
burden of plutonium.
He is not but should be a
member of the UPPU Club.