In the early 1960's when I was about 7 years old in grade school in Richland Washington, I had a full body radiation count at my grade school, Christ the King. The count was done in a trailer equipped with a radiation counter that slowly panned over the entire body of a person lying down.
 Nuclear reactors at the Hanford Site along the Columbia River in January 1960. The N Reactor is in the foreground, with the twin KE and KW Reactors in the immediate background. The historic B Reactor, the world's first plutonium production reactor, is visible in the distance. |
The study was conducted because of the proximity of the Hanford Works. That facility was a key part of the Manhattan Project in World War II producing the fissionable material for the two atomic bombs. To this day, Hanford continues both weapons research and nuclear power research, as well as ongoing cleanup of the mess made in the 1940's.
My father, Jacob (Jake) Sluka, worked at Hanford and our home was about 25 miles south of the site.
Mobile whole-body radiaton counter trailer. This photo is likely of grade or middle school kids being
measured in the mid 1960's. From Whole Body Counters,
UNITED STATES, ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION.
The actual study appears to have had two main parts: (1) The whole-body radiation counts of grade school children along with (2) a survey of what the kids were eating. The concern was that radioactive material from the Hanford site was getting into the air and water. From there it was moving into diary cows, vegetables and other farm goods, and into the fish in the river.
I have located one document that partially describes the dietary survey part of the study. Below are transcribed and original copies of the dietary survey. Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate any documentation on the radiation counts in children involved in the study.
Amazingly, I thnik I have located the "Operators Manual"
for the mobile radiation counting unit.
If anyone has any further info I would love to hear of it. Perhap you know where I can get a copy of the other reports produced by the study. Or perhaps you were also part of the study. Please email me at jsluka@inpharmix.com.
The document I have is a photo of the report. Below I have transcribed the introduction part and included the original images of the report.
BNWL-CC-1565
DIETARY LEVELS FOR TRI-CITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN
J. K. SOLDAT AND J. F. HONSTEAD
As part of the study of Mechanisms of.Environmenta1 Exposure for the
Division of Production of the Atomic Energy Commission, a program is underway
to investigate dietary pathways affecting school-age children:[1]. The program
is conducted in cooperation with.schoo1 systems in the Tri-City Area. Primarily
"elementary school" children are approached with this study, including
ages 6 through 12. A much smaller number of children aged 13 and 14 have also
been contacted in the course of this study. The research includes measurements
of the body burdens of radioactive materials in-children and a study of the
children's diets. This report presents a partial compilation of the dietary
levels obtained for children of different ages. These data are tabulated here
for reference purposes.
The program conducted in elementary schools is entitled "Influence of
Diet on Radioactivity in People". The study is conducted in three phases: (1)
The children are provided with information about radioactivity,and radiation
measurements in a 45 minute classroom presentation. They are encouraged at.
this time to participatein the study. (2) For a seven-day period the children
obtain diet statistics on a specia1 form provided them. (3) Upon presenting
their completed diet record and parent's approval at school the students are
invited to visit the mobile whole-body counter parked on the school grounds
where their body burden of radioactivity is measured. The diet record provided
by the children in, this way includes a compilation of general diet information
elicited by questions concerning frequency of consumption of seafood, Columbia
River fish and game birds. In addition, the questions investigate the source
of certain kinds of foodstuffs in the children's diet, e.g., drinking water and
milk supplies. Finally, the children are asked to complete an accurate record
of the consumption of those kinds of foods believed to contribute to radioactivity,
in their bodies for a period of seven consecutive days.
5 pages of explantion of the food type definitions omitted. See the full document.
CONCLUSIONS Valid dietary information for population groups is useful in, assisting with calculations of dose received by people living in the vicinity of nuclear installations. These data for elementary school children should assist with such calculations. , In particular, the data are most applicable to the Hanford environmental dose evaluation. On an international level scientists in the field of health physics have long felt the need for the definition of a "standard child" - the counterpart of the "standard man" that has been used for establishing permissible levels of radioactivity in various environments. The dietary information being obtained at Hanford with this elementary school Children survey should assist with the development of this model. REFERENCES [l] Honstead, J. F., "A Program for Evaluating Environmental Radiation Dose to Children". Submitted for publication in Radiological Health Data and Reports, in press. [2] Honstead, J. F., "Dietary Sources of Radioactivity for Richland Residents", BNWL-CC-926, November 10, 1966. [3] Honstead, J. F., "Radionuclide Burden-Diet Relationships Near a Nuclear Facility". Proceedings of the Symposium on Diagnosis and Treatment of Deposited Radionuclides, in press.
13 pages of tables. Each table includes a caption such as:
TABLE 1
WATER CONSUMPTION BY CHILDREN
This Table contains the results of diet records provided by 2973 Tri-City school
children. They maintained the record for seven consecutive days, the tabulated
numbers representing the average for the period. They were asked to report all
water consumption, including that used to mix powdered milk, soup, etc., in terms
of standard 8 oz. cups.
23262
HONSTEAD JF
A PROGRAM FOR EVALUATING ENVIRONMENTAL RADIATION DOSE TO CHILDREN
BATTELLE-NORTHWEST LAB., RICHLAND, WASH.
1 PAGE, ABSTRACT IN HEALTH PHYSICS 13, PAGE 93 , ( 1967) , PAPER PRESENTED AT THE TWELFTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE
HEALTH PHYSICS SOCIETY, WASHINGTON, D. C . , JUNE 18 - 22, 1967
THE POPULATION LIVING ADJACENT TO THE HANFORD PROJECT IS EXPOSED TO LOW LEVELS OF RADIATION AS A
RESULT OF RADIOACTIVE MATIRIALS RELEASED TO THE COLUMBIA RIVER IN REACTOR COOLING WATER. PART OF
THE DOSE THESE PEOPLE RECEIVE IS THE RESULT OF INTERNAL DEPOSITION OF RADIONUCLIDES OBTAINED FROM
LOCALLY PRODUCED FOODSTUFFS. TO IDENTIFY THE CRITICAL GROUPS IN THE LOCAL POPULATION AND
EVALUATE THE DOSE THEY RECEIVE, WE ARE STUDYING THE DIETARY HABITS OF PEOPLE VISITING HANFORDS
WHOLE-BODY COUNTERS. TO INCLUDE CHILDREN IN THIS STUDY A SPECIAL PROGRAM WAS INITIATED IN
COOPERATION WITH RICHLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS. THE METHOD USED TO OBTAIN DIETARY AND WHOLE-BODY
COUNTING DATA FROM SCHOOL CHILDREN IS DESCRIBED AND THE DIETARY DISTRIBUTIONS OBTAINED FROM
CHILDREN IN SEVERAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS ARE PRESENTED, PROBLEMS FACED INCALIBRATING THE SHADOWSHIELD
WHOLE-BODY COUNTER FOR CHILDREN AND THE RESULTS OF CALIBRATION MEASUREMENTS WITH SUGAR
PHANTOMS ARE DISCUSSED.
*REACTOR COOLANT + *DOSE CALCULATION, INTERNAL * WATER, DRINKING + *RIVER, COLUMBIA + COUNTER, WHOLE BODY *
BATTELLE NORTHWEST + WATER, IRRIGATION * *MONITORING PROGRAM, ENVIRONMENTAL + *CONCENTRATION MAN
61629
HONSTEAD JF
QUANTATIVE EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AFFECTING POPULATION EXPOSURE NEAR HANFORD
BATTEILE-NORTHWEST LABORATORY, RICHLAND, WASHINGTON
BNWL-SA-3203 + CONF-701106-3 + I8 PAGES, FROM SYMPOSIUM OF THE HEALTH PHYSICS SOCIETY, IDAHO FALLS, IDAHO,
MAY 1970
THE ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATIONS PERFORMED AT HANFORD ESTIMATE THE ANNUAL DOSE RECEIVED BY PEOPLE
LIVING NEAR THE SITE. THE ESTIMATED AVERAGE WHOLE-BOOY DOSE DECREASED FRON I8 MREM PER YEAR IN
1964 TO 5 MREM PER YEAR IN 1960 AS SEVERAL HANFORO PRODUCTION REACTORS WERE SHUT DOWN. HANF0RD
RADIOACTIBITY REACHES POPULATED AREAS BY WAY OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER AND BY TRANSPORT WITH AND
DEPOSITION FROM THE ATMOSPHERE. THE DIET AND RECREATION HABITS OF VARIOUS POPULATION GROUPS HAVE
BEEN STUDIED THROUGH SPECIAL SURVEYS AND RELATED TO THE RESULTING DOSE RECEIVED BY THESE PEOPLE.
AVAILABILITY - NATIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION SERVICE, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE. SPRINGFIELD, VA.
22151 $3.00 COPY, $O.95 MICROFICHE
*MONITOR, AREA * MONITOR, PERSONNEL +* OFF SITE + *HANFORO SITE * *POPULATION EXPOSURE + RIVER, COLUMBIA
DOSIMETRY * DIETARY HABIT * TRANSPORT * DEPOSITION
I know of no copies of the radiation report. Perhaps someone else knows where they might be found?
Send me an email
Modified: 2 April 2023
©2023 James Sluka
