SOLVENT RECOVER?
SAFETY
Means
LOWER INVENTORY If y o u evaporate solvents i a your manufacturing process, you c a n cut inventories of such material to a minimuni b y use of a B a r a e b e y Cheney automatic recovery system. B y recovery and re-use. n e w pur chases, inventory and storage costs of solvent can ail be cut. R e c o v e r y of solvents can also b e a business life-saver in case of short ages due t o business conditions or military restrictions. For t h e full story, write for our free technical bulletins.
Α-Worker Radiation Dose Limits Cur Radiation protection committee sets lower exposure limits in Α-plants, drafts plan for all U. S. LiOWER
FOR P I L O T PLANT
I I
Please send resume to" Box 9QÎ-J-12, G. & Ε. Ν., Easton, P a .
j l 6328
C&EN
DEC.
24.
1 9 56
EXPOSURE
LIMITS
• Maximum dose of 0.3 roentgen per week, 15 r per year. Both figures are unchanged from current practice. • One emergency dose of 25 r in a lifetime. • Maximum accumulated dose not to exceed an average of 5 r per year. For example, between ages 20 and 70, a worker could accumulate 250 r.
ASSISTANT DEPARTMENT HEAD NEEDED Excellent opportunity for e x p e r i e n c e d g r a d u a t e chemical engineer or chemist in inorganic field. Technical a n d supervisory respon s i b i l i t y t o carry o u t : c h e m i c a l p i l o t plant: operations. Five or m o r e years' industrial experi e n c e required.
RADIATION
for atomic plant workers have been recommended by an executive com mittee of the National Committee on Radiation Protection (CSdSN, Dec. 17, page 6161). The group also is calling for establishment of radiation dosage limits for the entire U. S. population. T h e action stems from a National | Academy of Sciences report on the I effects of atomic radiation on man (C&EN, June 25, page 3 1 0 2 ) . Com mittee chairman Lauriston S. Taylor of the National Bureau of Standards pre sented trie committee's recommenda tions to a meeting of the American Nuclear Society held in Washington, D. C . Here are some details of the recom mendations for permissible doses of man-made radiation for atomic plant workers:
A formula has been evolved which, says Taylor, will lend to ensure that the total dose of 250 r is not accumu lated too fast. Total accumulated dosage a t any age over 18, as provided by the formula, cannot be greater than five times the number of years the indi vidual is above age 18. For example, a 30-year-old atomic plant worker can not accumulate more than 60 r of radiation (30 — 18, X 5 ) . Triis formula, in effect, allows a worker t o build a reserve, or "bank," of exposure. For example, says Taylor, if a person started work at 18 and re ceived only 1 r of radiation per year for five years, he would have used only 5 of trie permitted 25 r, leaving him a re serve of 20. Next year, if necessary, this worker could receive the maximum 15 r and still have 5 in the "bank." TLe n e w limits emphasize radiation received by the reproductive organs. While t h e present limits are probably
safe, says Taylor, the reduced dosages will provide extra safeguards for the worker during the critical reproductive years between ages 18 to 4 0 . For industry, the more restrictive limits will mean a tightening u p of op erating standards. Design and opera tion of atomic plants must be such that radiation to workers does not approach too closely the lower limits being recommended, Taylor says. Radiation exposure levels in industry are closely related to exposure for the general population, says Taylor. For the population as a whole, the com mittee recommends a limit of 10 milHon r of man-made radiation delivered to the reproductive organs for every 1 million people from conception to age 30. This is an average accumulation of 10 r per person up to age 3 0 . The executive committee's recom mendations will be presented to the full National Committee on Radiation Pro tection for adoption. Atomic Energy Commission, a member of NCRP, has in the past adopted the recommenda tions of the committee.
• Humble Oil & Refining's Baytown refinery has buried its first radioactive waste. Contaminated catalyst from a research problem was buried according to AEC specifications. • Chemstrand's Decatur, Ala., opera tions have passed another safety mile stone—the research and development division worked 2 milHon man-hours without a lost-time accident. • Latex g l o v e s said to b e particularly useful for handling chemicals are avail able from Fineline Co. Made in E n g land, the gloves have a sueded inner finish which is said to curtail perspira tion and make them easier to pull off. The outer finish makes sHppery objects easy to hold. S1 J ! j
Further useful information on keyed Safe+y item ment i o n e d is r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e . . .
J Use handy coupon on page 6334 l
l·" j |
}
| !
