DU Firing programme at Eskmeals - As Low As reasonably Practical ?

Reference 1

Looking back to the UK depleted uranium firing programme and in particular the firings carried out Eskmeals on the west Cumbrian coast. It is interesting to consider to what extent these firing complied with the duty to restrict exposures to as low as level as reasonably practical (ALARP).  

The  IRR99 and the IRR85 requires employers to keep exposure to ionising radiation as low as reasonably practicable. 

VJ Battery at Eskemals in the early years was essentially a traditional open butt with the addition of a roof and extract ventilation from each side of the butt. this allowed the spray back of aerosolised DU and fragements through the open air onto a apron in front of the butt.

To quote from the reports :-

 Safety Services Organisation MOD(PE) November 1983, The distribution of Depleted Uranium releases at P&&EE Eskmeals, excluding appendices.

Report summarising the measurements taken at VJ Butt P&EE Eskmeals of Depleted Uranium in air during the period 1981 to 1982.

"The penetrator on impacting with the target produced pyrophoric fragments which rapidly disintegrate and. there is a spray back-up the range over an angle of 20 degrees  for a distance of 60 metres."

"Total activity in air measurements taken outside the butt indicate that DU is being released to the environment at levels above the DAC for a period of time after firing. It is not possible to quantify the amounts.".   DAC "Derived Air Concentration" ICRP 30

"The DU dust was found to be well within the respirable size range, dust particles of this size have very long settling times and can remain airborne  for very long periods of time and if allowed to disperse from the butt may travel many hundreds of meters."

This is the  Department of Defense Superbox DU firing facility at Aberdeen Proving Ground Maryland USA. As can be seen the facility offers almost complete containment. It includes a flight tunnel with a drop down door.  The Superbox facility is seen as an example of a facility that reduces exposures to the public and workers outside the facility to a level that is  ALARP

The conclusion is that  that in the early years of the firing programme the MOD failed to meet its legal duty to restrict exposures to as low as level as reasonably practical. It is also interesting to consider that that the VJ Battery at Eskmeals was probably very quick and cheap to build compared to the Superbox facility in the USA. 

It is now also clear that the MOD failed to seek letters of agreement from the Environment Agency for the discharge of DU to atmosphere from VJ Battery at Eskmeals. This was in breach of the MODs' own policies.

Later years of the firing programme at Eskmeals

DRPS Report "Comparison of Kirkcudbright and Eskmeals Environmental Monitoring Data with Generalised Derived Limits for Uranium" June 2002 mentions that a tunnel was added to the face of VJ Butt in order to reduce discharges of DU to the environment. This acknowledged that the original firings at VJ did not comply with the requirement to restrict exposures to as low as level as reasonably practical.

References

1: HSE Reducing risks protecting people 2001

A look back at radiation protection in the MOD's nuclear programmes

In 1990  the 12th  report of the  House of Commons Defence Committee was published. Looking at the report today provides a very interesting view of radiation protection and doses to both civilians and service personnel  working in the Defence Nuclear programmes in the late 1980s.

Link to the report.  

The report provides an insight into how the MOD was responding to the Gardner report and also touches on the need to counsel radiation workers about their exposures to radiation.  The report also discusses the no fault compensation scheme .

COMARE advice on the Gardner report

The report  mentions  the Graduate Entry Training scheme for Health Physicists  (GETS). The GET scheme  became a victim of the fragmentation of the defence nuclear sector, especially when AWE  no longer participated.  It was from this point on that the active career management  of MOD Health Physicists took a steep downhill turn. This also reflects the demise of the scientific civil service with the move away from engineering and science grades to a broad banded  grade structure,  which  includes a science and engineering skills framework.


Recruiting and retaining specialist staff

when asked "have there been difficulties in recruiting and retaining specialist staff" Surgeon Captain Harrison replied "I think there always has been, but the Ministry has responded to this by starting up a graduate entry training scheme for health physicists which has been running now some four to five years and this is brining really good first class graduates  into the service".

Over 20 years after the publication of the 12th  report of the  House of Commons Defence Committee ; the retention of specialist staff including health physicists remains  to this day a significant issue and risk to the safety of MOD's  nuclear programme, with little indication of progress in finding a solution.

Links

Counselling Scheme

MOD page on compensation scheme

Radiation Compensation Scheme

Depleted Uranium Measurements Eskmeals West Cumbria

In response to an FOI request MOD has  released two  reports on levels of Depleted Uranium ( DU) generated at the point of impact of 120mm DU kinetic energy rounds against hard targets at the Eskmeals R&D facility in West Cumbria. These reports detail measurements used to determine the time at which workers with PPE could enter the target area.

While most of the interest in DU has focused on service personnel who were exposed to DU in combat,  workers at Eskmeals were exposed day in day out for years whilst DU  firings were carried out at Eskmeals.

Report summarising the measurements taken at VJ Butt P&EE Eskmeals of Depleted Uranium in air during the period 1981 to 1982.

Safety Services Organisation MOD(PE) November 1983, The distribution of Depleted Uranium releases at P&&EE Eskmeals, excluding appendices.

Qinetiq Eskmeals