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Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)

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(Site Profile/Docket Number 027)

Location: Los Alamos, New Mexico

Also Known As: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory

Special Exposure Cohort Petition Information

The Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) is a unique category of employees established by the Act (42 CFR Part 83). Claims compensated under the SEC do not have to go through the dose reconstruction process. To qualify for compensation under the SEC, a covered employee must meet specific requirements (e.g., must have at least one of 22 “specified cancers,” and have worked for a specified time period at one of the SEC sites). Classes of employees and work sites can be considered for addition to the SEC through a NIOSH petition process. More information about the Special Exposure Cohort can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Open/Active SEC Petitions

There is one open/active SEC petition from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Petition 109. The Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health has received the SEC Petition Evaluation Report from NIOSH, will review it, and will send its recommendation(s) to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Class(es) Added to the SEC

  • Employees of the Department of Energy (DOE), its predecessor agencies, or DOE contractors or subcontractors who were monitored or should have been monitored for radiological exposures while working in operational Technical Areas with a history of radioactive material use at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days from March 15, 1943 through December 31, 1975, or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the Special Exposure Cohort.

    Note: This class was established from Petition 51

  • Employees of the DOE predecessor agencies and their contractors or subcontractors who were monitored or should have been monitored for exposure to ionizing radiation associated with radioactive lanthanum (RaLa) operations at Technical Area 10 (Bayo Canyon Site), Technical Area 35 (Ten Site), and Buildings H, Sigma, and U (located within Technical Area 1) for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days during the period from September 1, 1944, through July 18, 1963, or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more classes of employees in the SEC.

    Note: This class was established from Petition 61

  • All employees of the Department of Energy, its predecessor agencies, and their contractors and subcontractors who worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in Los Alamos, New Mexico from January 1, 1976, through December 31, 1995, for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the Special Exposure Cohort.

    Note: This class was established from Petition 109

  • All employees of the Department of Energy, its predecessor agencies, and their contractors and subcontractors who worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico from March 15, 1943 through December 31, 1975, for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the Special Exposure Cohort.

    Note: This class was established from Petition 170

Petitions Qualified for Evaluation

Below is a list of the petitions that qualified for evaluation. Select a petition on the list to view to the table for that particular petition.

SEC Petitions Not Qualifying for Evaluation

There were two additional petitions received that did not qualify for evaluation. One petition was withdrawn by the petitioner and the other petition did not meet the minimum petition requirements for evaluation.

Worker Outreach Activities

Based on a recommendation from the Advisory Board to provide workers and site experts with opportunities to participate in developing the technical documents used in dose reconstruction, NIOSH established a Worker Outreach Program.

At Worker Outreach Meetings, current and former DOE and AWE employees have opportunities to obtain information about Site Profiles, Technical Basis Documents, and Technical Information Bulletins, and to provide information for consideration and possible use in dose reconstruction. This process is valuable to ensure that the technical documents used in dose reconstruction contain correct and useful information.

Worker Outreach Activities for the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)

  • September 17, 2008 (4:00 p.m.)
    Meeting with New Mexico Building and Construction Trades Council (BCTC), Española, New Mexico

    Final Minutes [60 KB (11 pages)]

  • September 17, 2008 (9:00 a.m.)
    Meeting with International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 3279, White Rock, New Mexico

    Final Minutes [70 KB (14 pages)]

  • September 16, 2008 (6:30 p.m.)
    Meeting with International Guards Union of America (IGUA) Local 69, Los Alamos, New Mexico

    Final Minutes [37 KB (6 pages)]

  • September 16, 2008 (4:30 p.m.)
    Meeting with International Guards Union of America (IGUA) Local 69, Los Alamos, New Mexico

    Final Minutes [60 KB (11 pages)]

  • September 16, 2008 (9:00 a.m.)
    Meeting with International Guards Union of America (IGUA) Local 69, Los Alamos, New Mexico

    Final Minutes [58 KB (11 pages)]

  • May 10, 2007 
    Meeting with International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 3279, Los Alamos County Fire Department, White Rock, New Mexico

    Final Minutes [172 KB (16 pages)]

  • May 9, 2007 
    Meeting with International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 3279, Los Alamos County Fire Department, White Rock, New Mexico

    Final Minutes [108 KB (9 pages)]

  • May 9, 2007 
    Meeting with Executive Board of International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 3279, Los Alamos County Fire Department, White Rock, New Mexico

    Final Minutes [79 KB (6 pages)]

  • August 16, 2005
    Meeting with International Guards Union of America Local 69, Los Alamos, New Mexico

    Final Minutes [67 KB (16 pages)]

  • June 20, 2005
    Meeting with New Mexico Building and Construction Trades Council, Albuquerque, New Mexico

    Final Minutes [62 KB (5 pages)]

  • June 18, 2005
    Meeting with University Professional and Technical Employees Local 1663 at Northern New Mexico Community College, Espanola, New Mexico

    Final Minutes [126 KB (30 pages)]

Advisory Board Work Group on Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)

This Work Group is responsible for reviewing the Los Alamos Site Profile (as revised), the SEC petition(s) from Los Alamos petitioners, the NIOSH Evaluation Report of the petition, the SC&A Review of the Los Alamos Site Profile. It is also responsible for considering issues raised by the Board’s contractor (SC&A) concerning the Site Profile and the petition Evaluation Report, and for assisting NIOSH and SC&A in the resolution of such issues. The Work Group may recommend to the Board, changes in the Site Profile as appropriate. The Work Group should strive to develop a recommendation to the Board on whether a class should be added to the SEC.

Work Group Members:

  • Josie Beach (Chair)

  • Bradley P. Clawson

  • James E. Lockey, M.D.

Meeting Information:

Pre-Decisional Document Policy

Please Note: As part of the procedures and processes of the Advisory Board’s Work Groups, several kinds of pre-decisional documents may be developed. These pre-decisional documents, such as white papers, matrices, working drafts, etc., are distributed among Work Group members as research and background tools to facilitate discussion and deliberation. Although discussion during a public meeting may cover pre-decisional documents, these documents often are not further revised or finalized, and thus do not reflect the final determination or evaluation of the Advisory Board and its Work Groups. Additionally, some pre-decisional documents not otherwise posted on the website may contain sensitive information, which would require an interested party to obtain such documents by filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the CDC/ATSDR FOIA Office at FOIARequests@cdc.gov.

Technical Documents

If the energy employee’s personal radiation information is incomplete, NIOSH will use other sources to estimate the radiation dose. This may involve using technical documents called Site Profiles, Technical Basis Documents, and Technical Information Bulletins.

Site Profile

  • Introduction [114 KB (10 pages)]
    Revised October 1, 2007

    Revision Includes: Initiated to include References and Attributions and Annotations sections. Minor editorial changes made. No further changes occurred as a result of formal internal review. Incorporates formal NIOSH review comments.

  • Site Description [505 KB (65 pages)]
    Approved May 7, 2004

  • Occupational Medical Dose [716 KB (29 pages)]
    Revised January 10, 2023

    Revision Includes: Revised to remove X-ray doses and to reference ORAUT-OTIB-0006 in their place. Site-specific X-ray doses recalculated. Recalculated uncertainty using 24-cm torso thickness. This revision results in a change in the assigned doses. Incorporates formal internal and NIOSH review comments. Constitutes a total rewrite of the document.

  • Occupational Environmental Dose [1.6 MB (96 pages)]
    Revised March 26, 2010

    Revision Includes: Adds new environmental external and uptake data prior to 1971. Added Attributions and Annotations section. Incorporated SEC-000170 and SEC-00051. Intakes to assign maximum doses for four primary radionuclides during the specified employment period for the class of Los Alamos National Laboratory employees added to the Special Exposure Cohort (1943-1975) are included. Section 4.1.3.3 clarified ‘partial’ dose reconstruction with respect to ambient external dose; additional instructions to dose reconstructors were added to section 4.3.1, ‘Ambient Radiation.’ These state that on-site ambient dose is to be based on the environmental film badge and TLD results available from 1965 onward. In support of this, rows with years prior to 1965 were deleted from Table 4-26. Single correction to a preposition in Section 4.2.1. Incorporates review comments from formal internal and NIOSH review. Incorporates changes required by the adoption of an 83.14 SEC determination. This alters the definition of the class of Los Alamos National Laboratory employees added to the SEC (1943-1975), and removes the area-specific and monitoring restrictions from the class definition making the SEC class now include all employees in all areas of the LANL during the period 1943-1975. Constitutes a total rewrite of the document.

  • Occupational Internal Dose [940 KB (117 pages)]
    Revised April 18, 2013

    Revision Includes: Incorporates SEC-00109. Removed provisions to estimate unmonitored intakes consistent with the wording in the Advisory Board recommendation (Melius 2012). Incorporates formal internal and NIOSH review comments. Constitutes a total rewrite of the document.

  • Occupational External Dose [1 MB (79 pages)]
    Revised March 21, 2013

    Revision Includes: Incorporates dose reconstruction limitations that relate to a class of LANL employees added to the SEC comprised of all workers from January 1, 1976, to December 31, 1995, SEC-00109 (NIOSH 2012). Attachment B has been added, which contains an analysis that evaluates the neutron-to-photon ratios promulgated in earlier revisions of the TBD. No changes were made to the neutron-to-photon ratios as a result. Incorporates formal internal and NIOSH review comments. For the years 1976-1980, NIOSH has agreed, in addressing comments on the TBD, to assign neutron dose using the 95th-percentile value of the NP ratio to address uncertainties associated with the transition from film to TLD dosimeters in response to the LANL ABRWH Work Group. Constitutes a total rewrite of the document.

Technical Information Bulletins (TIBs)

  • Internal Dosimetry Co-Exposure Data for Los Alamos National Laboratory [1.8 MB (113 pages)]

    Document Number: ORAUT-OTIB-0062 Rev-01

    About this Document: Provides information for internal dosimetry coworker data for Los Alamos National Laboratory. Incorporates formal internal and NIOSH review comments. Analysis of plutonium-239 and cesium-137 lung counts updated and new guidance added for Type Super S plutonium-239.

    Revised: September 1, 2020

    Revision Includes: Revision initiated to include the intake rates for type SS plutonium. Incorporates formal internal and NIOSH review comments. Constitutes a total rewrite of the document.

    Note: Title changed from "Internal Dosimetry Coworker Data for Los Alamos National Laboratory" to "Internal Dosimetry Co-Exposure Data for Los Alamos National Laboratory" to accurately describe the coworker model as a co-exposure model. Previous versions of the is document are located on this page under the Document Archive for Technical Information Bulletins (TIBs) section.

Advisory Board and NIOSH Discussions on Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)

The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) discussion papers listed below are working documents prepared by NIOSH or its contractor for use in discussions with the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health or its Working Groups or Subcommittees. Draft, preliminary, interim, and white paper documents are not final NIOSH or Advisory Board (or their technical support and review contractors) positions unless specifically marked as such. These documents represent preliminary positions taken on technical issues prepared by NIOSH or its contractor.

The discussion papers have been reviewed to identify and redact any information that is protected by the Privacy Act 5 USC §552a and have been cleared for distribution.

Program Evaluation Plans (PEPs) and Program Evaluation Reports (PERs)

NIOSH is committed to applying the best available science in dose reconstructions. In keeping with this commitment, completed cases with probabilities of causation less than 50% are reviewed as relevant new information becomes available. The results of these reviews are described in a Program Evaluation Report (PER). The PER details the effect, if any, of the new information on the completed dose reconstruction. If it appears that the new information may result in an increase in dose for a completed dose reconstruction with a probability of causation of less than 50%, NIOSH is committed to working with the Department of Labor to reopen and rework the dose reconstruction, as appropriate. A Program Evaluation Plan (PEP) describes plans for evaluating specific program details or issues.

  • OCAS-PER-0018 Rev-00: Program Evaluation Report: Los Alamos National Laboratory TBD Revision [18 KB (2 pages)]
    July 31, 2007

    About this Document: New document to determine which previously completed claims require evaluation for the effect of revising the LANL TBD.

    Summary: It is not possible to precisely determine the effect of the change to LAMPF dose estimates on Probability of Causation without a new Dose Estimate. However, it is possible to determine if the LAMPF energy distribution was used in the original dose estimate. It is also possible to determine if an individual was assigned unmonitored neutron dose based on neutron to photon ratios and whether the ratio used will increase or decrease under the new revision to the TBD.In order to determine the effect of these factors, the individual cases must be re-examined. Since the unmonitored neutron dose has the potential of affecting every claim, all claims completed prior to May 30, 2007 from Los Alamos National Laboratory with a Probability of Causation less than 50% will require a review. NIOSH will request claims be returned in which the LAMPF energy distributions were originally assigned using Revision 0 for a new dose estimate. NIOSH will also request the return of claims in which the original dose estimate utilized a neutron to photon ratio that has now increased. For all other claims, NIOSH will review the claim against any other revisions to other technical documents that may affect the claim. DOL will be provided with a statement for each claim indicating what changes the claim was reviewed against and why the change did not affect the particular dose estimate or the Probability of Causation calculation. For any claims where it is not possible to provide this statement without a new Dose Estimate, NIOSH will request that DOL return the claim for a new Dose Estimate.

    NIOSH has determined that 300 claims meet the criteria for further review. The remaining cases with a probability of causation less than 50% (1 claim) were completed using revision 1 of the TBD. NIOSH will provide DOL with the list of 300 claims as well as a determination on each claim as to whether a new Dose Estimate is required.

Public Comments on Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Documents

How to Submit Comments

Comments on Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Documents can be submitted to the NIOSH Docket Officer electronically by email at nioshdocket@cdc.gov or printed comments can be mailed to:

NIOSH Docket Office
Robert A. Taft Laboratories, MS-C34
1090 Tusculum Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45226
Please include the Site Profile/Docket Number (027) on all comments.

Comments Received

Document Archive for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)

Site Profile Document Archive

  • Site Profile: Introduction [43 KB (8 pages)]
    January 25, 2005

  • Site Profile: Occupational Medical Dose

    • Revised September 14, 2010 [219 KB (18 pages)]

      Revision Includes: Revised to incorporate data captured since the last revision to better document what has come to be known about PFG at LANL, and to add skin doses for all projections and periods. Added references and included Attributions and Annotations Section. Incorporates formal internal and NIOSH review comments. Constitutes a total rewrite of the document.

    • Approved December 29, 2004 [193 KB (23 pages)]

      About this Document: Technical basis document for the Los Alamos National Laboratory – Occupational Medical Dose. Incorporates comments from internal and NIOSH reviews.

  • Site Profile: Occupational Environmental Dose [2 MB (96 pages)]
    October 8, 2004

  • Site Profile: Occupational Internal Dose section

    • Revised October 15, 2009 [1.3 MB (150 pages)]

      Revision Includes: Incorporates information from documents not available at the time the original document was published. The current information available for uranium has been incorporated into Section 5.2.4. Clarification of MDAs, UNAA/DNAA analysis results, guidance for selection of enrichment, and a description of the new LANL Bioassay Repository database content have been included. Appropriate references have been added. For claims involving uranium UNAA bioassay results: Because of the ambiguity in the interpretation of the uranium bioassay results when results were transferred into the Bioassay Repository, the guidance in the TBD might not have been interpreted consistently by DRs and PRs. UNAA/DNAA data provided by LANL is for DU and EU rather than U-238 and U-235. A table providing an aged “pure” 238Pu mixture has been provided for use when exposures to heat source technology plutonium is suspected. Changes to the mixture might affect the total dose for plutonium intakes evaluated as “pure” 238Pu. In addition, the Tiger Team Assessment (DOE 1991), the Human Experiments and the details of the RaLa SEC Report (NIOSH 2006) have been included in the revision. Incorporates formal internal and NIOSH review comments. Adds Attributions and Annotations section. A description of the class of employees added to the SEC for SEC Petition-00051 was added to the text describing the class of employees added under SEC Petition-000170 (employees associated with RaLa operations). A new Section 5.2.4.6 was added describing the limitations on internal dose reconstruction for employees in the non-excepted TAs (as listed in the petition). Added statement about only partial dose reconstructions are possible for most TAs. A new bullet was added in Section 5.7.2, General Guidance, indicating that only partial internal dose reconstructions are possible. Incorporates methods for estimating maximum doses in accordance with the evaluation report for Petition SEC-00109, changes to address comments by OCAS commenters, updated dose reconstruction methodologies and references, and addition of an algorithm to guide dose reconstructors for dose calculation and dose assignment. Constitutes a total rewrite of the document.

    • Approved December 21, 2004 [920 KB (96 pages)]

  • Site Profile: Occupational External Dose section

    • Occupational External Dose [1.1 MB (77 pages)]
      Revised November 23, 2009

      Revision Includes: Updated NIOSH references in Sections 6-1, 6-2, A-6 and Reference Section. Added details to the Scope in Section 6.1. In Section 6.2, “Reporting Practices” was modified to distinguish between LANL records with non-penetrating dose listed as “SHALLOW” vs. those listed as “SKIN.” Several changes were made to remove dose reconstruction methods and information relating to periods when it has been determined to be infeasible to estimate external doses. Specifically, according to the HHS letter adding a class of LANL employees to the SEC (1943-1975), partial dose reconstructions may include external doses from gamma emitters in the years 1946-1975, neutrons from 1946-1975, and beta-emitters in the years 1949-1975. Incorporates formal internal and NIOSH review comments. No sections were deleted.

    • Revised May 30, 2007 [881 KB (76 pages)]

      Revision Includes: Adds Purpose and Scope sections. Constitutes a total rewrite of document. Adds Attributions and Annotations section. Incorporates formal internal and NIOSH review comments. This revision results in an increase in assigned dose and a PER is required due to the addition of median photon adjustment values in Tables 6-22 and A-8; otherwise, the maximum values were replaced with lower 95th percentiles, and therefore would lower doses. An exception to the lower 95th-percentile values is the value for Other Operations, which is higher than the previously reported maximum value of annual geometric means. This change will result in a higher dose. Changes in Table A-7 will increase skin/shallow dose for LAMPF/LANSCE workers.

    • Approved May 10, 2005 [832 KB (72 pages)]

Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) Petition Document Archive

Technical Information Bulletins (TIBs) Document Archive

  • Internal Dosimetry Coworker Data for Los Alamos National Laboratory [942 KB (104 pages)]

    Document Number: ORAUT-OTIB-0062 Rev-00

    About this Document: Provides information for internal dosimetry coworker data for Los Alamos National Laboratory. Incorporates formal internal and NIOSH review comments. Analysis of plutonium-239 and cesium-137 lung counts updated and new guidance added for Type Super S plutonium-239.

    Approved: October 15, 2009

    Note: Title changed from “Internal Dosimetry Coworker Data for Los Alamos National Laboratory” to “Internal Dosimetry Co-Exposure Data for Los Alamos National Laboratory” on September 1, 2020, to accurately describe the coworker model as a co-exposure model.