Occupational Toxicology Associates, Inc., Hillsboro, Oregon 97123, USA.
Inhal Toxicol. 2010 Apr;22(5):427-44. doi: 10.3109/08958371003592297.
Production of plutonium for the United States' nuclear weapons program from the 1940s to the 1980s generated 53 million gallons of radioactive chemical waste, which is stored in 177 underground tanks at the Hanford site in southeastern Washington State. Recent attempts to begin the retrieval and treatment of these wastes require moving the waste to more modern tanks and result in potential exposure of the workers to unfamiliar odors emanating from headspace in the tanks. Given the unknown risks involved, workers were placed on supplied air respiratory protection. CH2MHILL, the managers of the Hanford site tank farms, asked an Independent Toxicology Panel (ITP) to assist them in issues relating to an industrial hygiene and risk assessment problem. The ITP was called upon to help determine the risk of exposure to vapors from the tanks, and in general develop a strategy for solution of the problem. This paper presents the methods used to determine the chemicals of potential concern (COPCs) and the resultant development of screening values and Acceptable Occupational Exposure Limits (AOELs) for these COPCs. A total of 1826 chemicals were inventoried and evaluated. Over 1500 chemicals were identified in the waste tanks headspaces and more than 600 of these were assigned screening values; 72 of these compounds were recommended for AOEL development. Included in this list of 72 were 57 COPCs identified by the ITP and of these 47 were subsequently assigned AOELs. An exhaustive exposure assessment strategy was developed by the CH2MHILL industrial hygiene department to evaluate these COPCs.
20 世纪 40 年代至 80 年代期间，美国核武器计划生产钚产生了 5300 万加仑放射性化学废物，这些废物储存在华盛顿州东南部汉福德厂址的 177 个地下储罐中。最近，为了开始回收和处理这些废物，尝试将废物转移到更现代化的储罐中，这可能会导致工人接触到来自储罐顶部空间的陌生气味。鉴于所涉及的未知风险，工人被要求佩戴提供空气的呼吸保护装置。汉福德厂址罐区的管理者 CH2MHILL 请独立毒理学专家组（ITP）协助他们解决工业卫生和风险评估问题。ITP 被要求帮助确定从罐中蒸气暴露的风险，并制定解决问题的总体策略。本文介绍了确定潜在关注化学品（COPC）的方法，以及由此制定的这些 COPC 的筛选值和可接受职业暴露限值（AOEL）。共对 1826 种化学品进行了编目和评估。在废物罐的顶部空间中鉴定出 1500 多种化学品，其中 600 多种被分配了筛选值；其中 72 种化合物被推荐用于 AOEL 开发。在这 72 种化合物中，有 57 种是由 ITP 确定的 COPC，其中 47 种随后被分配了 AOEL。CH2MHILL 工业卫生部门制定了详尽的暴露评估策略来评估这些 COPC。
