History of the USTUR
USTUR "Pre-History"
In 1949 the Hanford site initiated “…a modest program of postmortem tissue sampling at autopsy…”, which collected bone, lung, and liver samples from Hanford workers as well as other residents of Richland, Washington (Nelson et al. 1972; Newton et al 1966, Newton et al 1968). These Hanford autopsy samples, along with a few samples from other tissues, were radiochemically analyzed for plutonium in an effort to determine deposition sites for plutonium within the body and to compare data from post-mortem tissue samples to the values predicted by biokinetic models and excretion data.
The AEC Rocky Flats Facility also conducted limited post mortem sampling of occupationally exposed individuals. Studies of plutonium in the general population were initiated by Los Alamos Scientific (now National) Laboratory (LANL) in 1959 (Campbell et al. 1972) and the U.S. Public Health Service in the early 1960’s (Magno et al. 1969).
The National Plutonium Registry
The progenitor of what is now the USTUR was formally established in August 1968 as the National Plutonium Registry by the Hanford Environmental Health Foundation (HEHF) under contract to the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). The initial staff included W Daggett Norwood who was appointed as the founding director. He was assisted by Battelle-Northwest staff member, Carlos E. Newton, and an administrative assistant, Dorothy Potter. The HEHF medical director, Philip A. Fuqua, invited a number of recognized scientists to serve as members of a blue ribbon Advisory Committee to help guide the Registry. The six initial committee members included three physicians: Clarence C. Lushbaugh, Thomas F. Mancuso, and J.H. Sterner; two physicists: Robley D. Evans and Herbert M. Parker; and a toxicologist Lloyd M. Joshel. Biophysicist, Wright Langham was added the following year.
By the end of its first year, the Registry had established its basic operating methodology and had started recruiting registrants. Three registrants volunteered that year and forty-five facilities utilizing transuranium elements, largely AEC contractors, were identified and cooperative working arrangements were solicited to these facilities. Forms for collection of health physics and medical data were developed, and active recruitment was carried out at the Hanford site.
The United States Transuranium Registry (USTR)
The Registry’s name was changed to the United States Transuranium Registry (USTR) in its second year of operation, 1970. This change reflected the program’s concern for other transuranic elements as well as plutonium. The name change did not affect the basic mission of the Registry, which, according to its 1974 Annual Report, included following workers in order to ascertain if there were any adverse health effects associated with their plutonium exposures.
The registry identified work sites containing suitable populations and worked to establish agreements with these sites such that recruitment could begin. By June 1974, 5843 transuranium workers had been identified, of whom 3880 had signed medical and health physics records releases and 819 had given authority for autopsy. A total of 45 autopsies had been carried out, two-thirds (30) on Rocky Flats Facility workers.
Scientific activities in the first years of USTR operation were limited due to the lack of autopsy material as well as a limited staff and the need to establish procedures and organizational agreements. Still several early studies were initiated, focusing on the first 30 autopsy cases. Radiochemistry for early USTR cases was conducted at the Rocky Flats Facility, Battelle, Pacific Northwest Laboratories, and Los Alamos.
An important aspect of the USTR’s work involved developing an epidemiologic study. In 1974 a preliminary study was designed for the registry and in 1977 the advisory committee observed that the USTR and LANL had overlapping and perhaps conflicting responsibilities. Advisory committee members Breitenstein and Voelz looked into this matter and concluded that it was best left alone pending a better definition of the DOE study. Within months, the USTR shifted its focus from epidemiology to biokinetics and health physics.
The Restructured Advisory Committee
The USTR Advisory Committee underwent several changes in the early 1970s and in 1977 it was restructured in order to accommodate the need for expansion and development in new areas. Several administrative changes also occurred in the 1970s. J.A. Norcross became director, but when he fell ill a year later Norwood filled in as interim director. Then in 1976 B.D. Breitenstein Jr. took over as director.
In 1978, Charles W. Mays became the chair of the Advisory Committee. Under May's leadership, the Advisory Committee assumed a more active role in the scientific aspects of the USTR. Much of this scientific work was conducted by the Dosimetry Subcommittee and the Technical Subcommittee.
The United States Uranium Registry
The United States Uranium Registry (USUR) was established in 1978 by the Hanford Environmental Health Foundation under DOE funding. The USUR was a parallel but administratively separate program from the USTR whose three major goals were to:
- characterize the occupational health aspects of the uranium fuel cycle,
- measure the concentration and distribution of uranium and the uranium decay chain in the tissues of exposed workers, and
- identify populations suitable for health related studies.
Robert H. Moore was appointed as half-time director of the USUR.
The USTR's First Whole Body Case
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The first whole body donation was received in 1979 when Stuart E. Gunn, a research chemist with high internal deposition of Am-241, contacted the USTR a few weeks before his death. The Dosimetry Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee helped the USTR's small staff to process this first whole body case and several collaborating scientists assisted as well. This case significantly contributed to the understanding of americium biokinetics in man.
1976 Hanford 241Am Incident: A USTUR Landmark
In 1976, an ion-exchange column containing about 100 g of 241Am exploded injuring the chemical operator, Harold R. McCluskey, who sustained acid burns and superficial cuts to the face and upper body. From 1 to 5 Ci of 241Am were also deposited on the injured worker and his clothing. The October 1983 issue of the Journal of Health Physics was dedicated to McCluskey.
Steps Toward Merging the USTR and USUR
The USTUR administrative office was moved to the WSU Tri-cities campus, Richland, WA in 1992 |
In 1981, the Advisory Committee recommended that the Transuranium and Uranium Registries be combined into a single entity. Although this recommendation was not immediately acted upon, a combined USTR and USUR Advisory Committee was created. The 1983 Advisory Committee discussed the Uranium Registry, suggesting that both the Uranium and the Transuranium registries should increase their understanding of uranium biokinetics and analysis. The USUR director, Robert Moore, retired in 1989 and current USTR director assumed directorship of both registries. Though the two Registries remained administratively separate, the first combined Annual Report for the Registries was published in 1990. Throughout this time period, the publication of papers in peer reviewed scientific literature was emphasized.
The U.S. Transuranium and Uranium Registries
1995 Staff Photo- back row: Ron Filipy, John Russell, Susan Ehrhart; front row: Lynn Harwick?, Ron Kathren, June markel?, ??, Cheryl Love?, Tony James. |
The USTR and USUR were administratively joined in 1992 when the US DOE awarded a three year grant to Washington State University (WSU) for the management and operation of the Registries. The registries were renamed the U.S. Transuranium and Uranium Registries (USTUR) and continued to operate under the direction of Ronald L. Kathren. WSU's College of Pharmacy assumed responsibility for the registries at that time and radiochemistry operations moved from Los Alamos National Laboratory to WSU Pullman, WA in 1994. Combining the USUR and the USTR into a single entity eliminated redundant efforts and lowered overheads. The move to an independent research university allowed for collaborative research projects with other university personnel, access to specialized analytical capabilities, and student participation in research activities. The transfer also enhanced the credibility of the USTUR program in that it was funded as a grant rather than a contract and the staff members have full academic freedom typical of a university community.
The National Human Tissue Repository (NHRTR)
The USTUR was expanded in July 1992 through the creation of the National Human Radiobiological Tissue Repository (NHRTR) for radiological specimens. The NHRTR contains frozen tissues, tissue solutions, microscope slides, and paraffin blocks that were collected by the USTUR at autopsy of workers with documented intakes of plutonium, americium, uranium, and thorium. A unique collection of tissues from the Radium Dial Painter program were also received from the Center for Human Radiobiology at the Argonne National Laboratory. The samples in the NHRTR are available to qualified scientists who are interested in conducting studies of localized tissue doses, studies of micro-distribution of the actinide elements, or studies of radiation induced molecular changes.
Radium Dial Painters. From Stannard, J. N. “Radioactivity and Health: A History”. Springfield, VA: National Technical Information Service (1988). |
The National Radiobiology Archives
The U.S. National Radiobiology Archives (NRA) program was transferred from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to the USTUR in 1996. The NRA houses a valuable collection of animal tissue specimens and data from government sponsored radiobiology life-span studies performed at various National Laboratories and universities since the 1940's.
In 2006, Radiochemisry operations moved to the Center for Laboratory Sciences in Pasco, WA. |
Laboratory Facilities Move to the Tri-cities
Anthony C. James became directory of the USTUR in 2005 after Ronald Filipy retired and the USTUR's radiochemistry research program moved in 2006 from the Nuclear Radiation Center, WSU Pullman to the Center for Laboratory Sciences (CLS), Pasco, WA. The USTUR intends to carry out the bulk of radiochemical analyses at a commercial radiochemical laboratory. A sub-contract to Severn Trent Laboratory (STL) has been initiated to test their performance in analyzing and reporting radiochemical tissue analyses. To assist in assessing STL's performance, USTUR has engaged the consulting services of Dr. Isabel Fisenne who is an internationally recognized expert on analysis of actinides in human tissues. CLS will provide QA/QC oversight, analyze tissue samples from partial-body donations, and carry out supporting radiochemistry research.
References
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