NCAR Staff NotesNo. 409 April 26, 1974

MARTELL LINKS ALPHA RADIOACTIVITY AND LUNG CANCER

The high incidence of lung cancer among cigarette smokers may be caused byalpha radiation from insoluble and highly radioactive particles, according to EdMartell at a recent Hollow Square discussion at NCAR, and in a forthcoming articlein Nature magazine. Ed has been a member of the NCAR scientific staff since 1962,working in the fields of atmospheric radioactivity and geochemistry.

Ed is discussing the implications of these findings for future development ofplutonium breeder reactors in testimony prepared for a hearing being held this week(April 24-26) by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in Germantown, Maryland.Ed, who is scheduled to testify today (Friday, April 26), is one of several scien-tists invited to comment on the AEC Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor Program bythe Environmental Impact Assessment Project of the Institute of Ecology.

A summary of the Nature article, prepared by Ed, follows. This summary hasbeen released to the news media in advance of the publication of the article be-cause of its relevance to the testimony prepared for the AEC hearing.

* Alpha radiation is considered to be a primary agent of lung cancer in uraniumminers who have received cumulative doses in excess of 600 rem (the standard unitof radiation dose equivalent). Ed's research indicates that cigarette smokers arereceiving similar alpha doses over a longer period of time around insoluble smokeparticles lodged in small volumes of their lung tissue.

Earlier suggestions that alpha radioactivity in tobacco and cigarette smokemight contribute to cancer among smokers had been discounted because the amountof radioactivity was considered to be too small, and because it was not known thatthe radioactivity is associated with particles which are very insoluble and accumu-late in the lungs.

Ed presents experimental evidence that reveals a remarkable chain of concen-tration processes, leading to high concentrations of radioactive lead-210 on in-soluble smoke particles small enough to be inhaled and deposited in the lungs.

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This week in Staff Notes . . a

Alpha Radioactivity and Lung Cancer Among Smokers Mr. Yuk Warns of Poison

Casals Trio to Perform at NCAR How Safe is Your Home Wiring?Survival Training Film Shown New Staff MembersSolar Energy Conference to Be Held in Denver VisitorsAntennas and Propagation Society Solicits Papers Job OpeningsDid You See the Meteor Last Sunday? Calendar Notes

Interested in a Golden-Boulder Commuter Bus?

NCAR Staff Notes/No. 409Page 2

The process begins with the radioactive decay of gaseous radon which entersthe lower atmosphere from soil surfaces. Radioactive daughter products of radonbecome attached to very small airborne dust particles, which are captured in largenumbers by sticky hairs, called trichomes, on tobacco leaves.

The high temperatures of burning cigarettes--about 650 to 800C--fuse the glan-dular trichome heads to form small, insoluble smoke particles. Some of these par-ticles are inhaled and deposited in the bronchi of smokers. At sites where lungclearance mechanisms are not effective, the particles persist and accumulate.

Because lead-210 has a 22-yr "half-life" (the time for half of the radioactiveatoms to disintegrate), both the total radioactivity and the radiation dose ratewill continue to increase as long as a smoker continues to smoke. The decay oflead-210 leads to polonium-210 which in turn decays by alpha emission. Polonium-210, the main source of damaging radiation, builds up in the insoluble particlesuntil its radioactive decay rate nearly equals that of lead-210. (Direct entry ofpolonium-210 to the lungs during smoke inhalation is not critical, since duringcigarette burning polonium forms volatile compounds which are inhaled but arerapidly cleared from the lung.)

Results of studies published in 1965 by John B. Little and Edward P. Radfordat the Harvard School of Public Health showed high local concentrations of polonium-210 in the bronchi of deceased smokers. Cigarette smokers' lungs typically haveabout 10 more disintegrations per minute of lead-210 and polonium-210 than thenatural level in non-smokers' lungs. The added amount is highly localized and canbe explained by the presence of several million insoluble smoke particles, eachcarrying the lead-210 radioactivity of an individual tobacco trichome.

The cumulative alpha radiation dose to lung cells surrounding the radioactiveparticles is about 100 rem in 20 years for a single particle and thousands of remin 20 years around small clusters of such particles--doses that rival or exceedthe doses known to have caused a significant increase in lung cancer in uraniumminers.

Thus the evidence indicates that alpha radiation may be the primary agent oflung cancer in smokers. If so, past experience with cancer incidence among smokersprovides an improved basis for assessing the health risks that will result fromchronic exposure to low levels of internal alpha emitters, such as plutonium. Edconcludes that the possibility that only a few disintegrations per minute of alpharadioactivity gives rise to a significant cancer risk raises very serious ques-

tions regarding the safety and acceptability of plutonium technology and the plu-tonium fast breeder reactor program. (Airborne plutonium contamination is usuallypresent in the form of insoluble plutonium oxide particles of respirable size, ex-posing both plutonium workers and the general public to inhalation of this highlytoxic material.) Ed maintains that such risks must be fully evaluated before weare irretrievably committed to a plutonium reactor program.

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* NCAR Staff Notes/No. 409Page 3

PABLO CASALS TRIO TO PERFORM AT NCAR

The staff is reminded that Walter Roberts invites them to a performance of ThePablo Casals Trio in the NCAR lobby next Tuesday, April 30, at 6:00 p.m. A recep-tion will be held in the Damon Room following the concert. In residence at theUniversity of Colorado, the trio members are Oswald Lehnert, violin, Jurgen deLemos, cello, and Paul Parmelee, piano. Complimentary tickets are available atVirginia Cofer's desk in the lobby.

SURVIVAL TRAINING FILM SHOWN

Some 40 staff members attended the showing of "Life Raft Environment," a U.S.Air Force (USAF) survival training film, last week. Pete Orum of the ResearchAviation Facility showed the film and led a discussion session to highlight pos-sible problems that scientists and experimenters flying on GATE aircraft mightencounter. A second session on survival concentrating on how to survive on a tropi-cal sea coast will be scheduled sometime in May. The exact time will be announcedin Calendar Notes.

This first session dealt with survival in the sea. Stressing the fact that"the sea environment is not place for people with insufficient knowledge of thesea," the film attempted to teach all the things a downed flyer would need to knowto survive in "this most dangerous place for survival."

The film spared no details. Beginning with parachuting from the aircraft andhow to inflate a life raft, it continued with what to do if dragged through thewater by your parachute, how to get into the raft (no easy task), what to do aboutinjury, what to do about sea sickness, how to repair a life raft, how to signal topossible rescue craft, and so on.

The film suggested that once you have successfully entered the raft, thehardest part is over. Your next big hurdle is to avoid the hazards of exposure,the biggest threat to survival. And exposure does not mean only the cold; it alsomeans salt water sores and sunburn, and it can mean improper use of water. TheUSAF tropical ration includes nine pints of water, to be used at the rate of onlyone pint a day. If you are improperly clothed or seasick, you will dehydrate more

Squickly and need more water--more water that you may not have.

W After the film, Pete talked specifically about the Electra's equipment. It

carries a 20-man life raft and some 4-man rafts. Desalter kits and solar stills

NCAR Staff Notes/No. 409Page 4

are standard equipment, so that the water supply, while still restricted, will notrun out after a few days aboard the larger rafts.

Pete concluded with the announcement that while there would be only one moresession based on films shown at the Mesa Lab, additional specific training filmsare being shown frequently at Jeffco during the latter half of the lunch hour.Staff members (especially those at Jeffco) might want to check to see when thetraining sessions are scheduled; all interested staffers are welcome at both theJeffco and the Mesa sessions.

SOLAR ENERGY CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN DENVER

The Solar Heating, Cooling, & Energy Conservation Conference will be held atthe usual time of the monthly meeting of the Boulder Solar Energy Society (BSES)next week. Instead of meeting on the first Wednesday of next month, the BSES willmeet on May 8.

The three-day conference will be conducted by Environmental Action of Colo-rado (EAC). The only public session will occur on Tuesday, April 30, when anexhibition will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Downtown Holiday InnHotel. If you are interested in attending, the technical models, technology, andvisual illustrations will be highlighted at this public exhibition.

The conference iteself will provide timely, practical, and readily under-standable information about energy conservation techniques and the newly emergingsolar heating and cooling industry. Actual construction and installation underway by industrial concerns will be emphasized. Discussions will include how solarenergy and energy conservation implementation will affect society and the long-term energy situation. The current status of research and development, marketingpotentials, legal considerations, lending problems, architectural and sitingfactors, and environmental considerations will also be discussed.

If you are interested in attending the conference, call EAC at 892-1117,ext. 470. The registration fee is $100.00.

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* NCAR Staff Notes/No. 409Page 5

ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION SOCIETY SOLICITS PAPERS

The Denver-Boulder chapter of the Antennas and Propagation Society of theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers will hold a one-day symposium atNCAR on Friday, May 31. Roger F. Harrington, the keynote speaker, will discuss"Characteristic Modes and Their Uses for Antenna and Radar Problems."

The society is soliciting papers describing new work in experimental or theo-retical aspects of antennas and propagation and related areas. Each author willgive a 15-min presentation. To have a paper considered, two copies of a summaryand one copy of a 60-word abstract are required. The society asks that applicantscarefully conform to the format specifications illustrated in Harrington's ab-stract, shown below in reduced form. Use 8 x il-in, paper with 1-in. margins,and elite type if possible.

CHARACTERISTIC MODES AND THEIR USES FORANTENNA AND RADAR PROBLEMS

Roger F. HarringtonDepartment of Electricaland Computer Engineering

Syracuse University

Characteristic Modes have long been used in the analysis of

radiation and scattering problems when the surface of a body coincides

with a cylinder or sphere. Recently characteristic modes having

similar properties have been found for bodies of arbitrary shape.

The basic definition and general properties of these modes will

be discussed. Some applications to antenna and radar scattering

problems will be developed. Computational methods will be discussed

and computations given for some representative problems.

Abstracts should be sent by May 2 to:

R. L. Lewis, Program Chairman1974 Denver-Boulder AP-S Local SymposiumDepartment of Electrical EngineeringUniversity of ColoradoBoulder, Colorado 80302

Notice of acceptance will be mailed to authors by May 10. For further infor-mation call Allen Q. Howard Jr. at 499-1000, ext. 3493, or James W. Hart at499-1000, ext. 4456.

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NCAR Staff Notes/No. 409Page 6

DID YOU SEE THE METEOR LAST SUNDAY?

The Denver Museum of Natural History is seeking information about the meteorthat apparently passed over the Boulder area early last Sunday morning. They wouldappreciate hearing from anyone who saw it and can provide any information about itsdirection of movement and the possible location of any impact fragments. Theperson to call is Jack Murphy of the museum's Geology Department at 399-0870.

INTERESTED IN A GOLDEN-BOULDER COMMUTER BUS?

The major Boulder employers have been asked to survey their staffs for personsinterested in a Golden-to-Boulder commuter bus. Staff members living in Golden'soutlying towns (Eldorado Springs, Morrison, Evergreen, and the Coal Creek area,etc.) might also connect with the service. If you are interested call Robert Peter-son at 499-1000, ext. 3750, or write to the National Bureau of Standards, c/oDivision 271, 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado 80303.

MR, YUK WARNS OF POISON

Mr. Yuk, the scowling, green-faced sticker, may be ugly enough to save yourchild from a poisoning at home. A recent article in the Rocky Mountain News (RMN)reports:

"Pretested on groups of tots who clearly con-sidered it the most repulsive of 36 images shown them,Mr. Yuk is now finding his way onto bottles of bleach,

@OMppesticides, Drano, drugs, and a host of other commonbut poisonous household items which thoughtless par-ents leave within reach of pre-schoolers. Ironically,the test showed kids are attracted to the traditionalskull-and-crossbones emblem . ..

"Statistics accumulated at Denver General lastyear indicate that accidental poisonings in youngstersunder five is predominantly a phenomenon of two-year-olds, an age-group marked by considerable exploratoryactivity combined with little sense of precaution."

*NCAR Staff Notes/No. 409Page 7

Mr. Yuk was introduced in the Denver area last month by the Rocky MountainPoison Center, a nonprofit joint project of. Denver General Hospital, the Universityof Colorado Medical Center, and the Colorado Health Department.

The stickers bear the 24-hr-a-day toll-free telephone number of the poisoncontrol center, where a new computer system provides instant information for firstaid and medical treatment for poisoning by any of some 60,000 substances and commer-cial products, according to the RMN article. The program is only the first step ina sophisticated communications hookup scheduled to link 11 Colorado hospitals withthe poison control center in coming weeks, and 17 more by July 1.

If you are interested in obtaining a sheet of these stickers, please callSandi Hoff (ext. 223) orBlair Smallwood (ext. 222).1

* HOW SAFE IS YOUR HOME WIRING?

Are your three-prong outlets at home really grounded? Has the hot wire beenconnected to the neutral or to the ground? The NCAR Safety Committee has a simpledevice for checking potentially hazardous conditions, which you are invited toborrow. See Blair Smallwood in ML room 252 or call him at ext. 222.

DEPARTU RES

Rita M. Brown March 29Alan K. Cline March 27

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NCAR Staff Notes/No. 409Page 8

NEW STAFF MEMBERS

Jeffrey E. LaPointe: Custodian working with Plant Facilities, ML room 043,

ext. 341.

James E. Piper: Hail damage appraiser working with ESIG in Sterling, Colorado.

The following new staff members are working with the National Hail ResearchExperiment (NHRE) in Grover, Colorado.

Assistant cooks: Helen L. Benner, Joan B. Duggan, Alvena Goodwine.

Head cook: Donna M. Hoke

Housekeepers: Emily R. Hoffman, Virginia B. Johnston, Norma I. Lingelbach,Rita G. Sorenson.

VISITORS

B. R. D00s, GARP, Geneva, Switzerland. May 1-3.--GATE Project

Henry Larsson, University of Stockholm, Sweden. Project: Breakdown of the ZonalMotion. April 18-May 18, ML room 3, ext. 521 or 534.--Computing Facility

Harald Lejenas, University of Stockholm, Sweden. Project: Breakdown of the ZonalMotion. April 18-May 18, ML room 3, ext. 521 or 534.--Computing Facility

Philip McClure, University of Texas at Dallas. Project: Analysis of IncoherentScatter Data from Jicamarca, Peru. April 25-Nay 3.--Computing Facility

Nitchell Noncrieff, Imperial College, Department of Neteorology, London, England.April 25-26.--Ed Zipser and the GATE Group

Richard Somerville, Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York. April 27-Nay 4. *--A. Kasahara and W. WashingtonW

* NCAR Staff Notes/No. 409Page 9

The following will be visitors to the Field Observing Facilityon April 29 and 30:

Don Boyer, National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C.

Joost Businger, University of Washington, Seattle,Washington

William H. Clayton, Texas A&M University, Galveston,

Texas

H. Frank Eden, National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C

Charles Elderkin, Battelle Memorial Institute, Richland,Washington

Isadore Katz, The Johns Hopkins University, SilverSpring, Maryland

Rober Lhermitte, University of Miami, Coral Gables,*Florida

Walter Lyons, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisc.

Paul B. MacCready, AeroVironment, Pasadena, Calif.

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NCAR Staff Notes/No. 409Page 10

JOB OPENINGSAs of April 24

REGULAR (Full-time):

Bindery Worker (Non-exempt Range 16)............Office Services (ADMN)

Courier (Non-exempt Range 13) ........ ...... Office Services (ADMN)

Division Director (Staff reporting to theDirector of NCAR)............ Atmospheric Technology Division

Engineer-Observer (Sacramento Peak Observatory)(Engineer Curves).............HAO

Graduate Assistant (G.A. Stipend Scale).........GATE/GARP (AAP)

Planning & Budget Analyst (Admn. Range IV-V) .... Budget-Plans (BPI)

Programmer (Programmer Range II)... ............. NHRE (AQM)

Scientist (BS-MS curves)........... ............ GATE/GARP (AAP)

Secretary (Non-exempt Range 17)... .............. Contracts (ADMN)

Emphasis is placed on promotion from within NCAR. Current staff members andthose on layoff who wish to be considered for any job openings should contactthe Employment Administrator within two weeks after the job is first posted.If minimum qualifications are met, this group will be given first consideration;after the two week period, if no current or laid-off employee is selected to fillthe position, persons from outside NCAR will be considered. For more information,please call the Personnel Office (Ext. 569 or 555).

NCAR IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. A COPY OF OURAFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW.

Staff Notes information should be sent to Editor Lynne Mesirow (ext. 644) by 5:00 p.m.on Tuesday.

NCAR Staff Notes/No. 409

Page 11

Calendar NotesApril 29 to May 6, 1974

MONDAY, April 29

* Meeting -- FOF Advisory Panel

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.Fleischmann Building

* NCAR Climate Club Meeting -- Climate: What the Sun Says, Jack Eddy, HAO

3:00 p.m.NCAR Mesa Laboratory, Seminar Room

TUESDAY, April 30

* Meeting -- FOF Advisory Panel

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noonPSRB-3, 30th Street

* Meeting -- Council for NCAR Women

12:15 p.m.NCAR Mesa Laboratory, Chapman Room

* AAP Seminar -- A Numerical Simulation of Upper-Level Frontogenesis,Melvyn Shapiro, AAP

1:30 p.m.NCAR Mesa Laboratory, Seminar Room

* Concert -- Pablo Casals Trio

6:00 p.m.NCAR Mesa Laboratory

WEDNESDAY, May 1

* ASP Seminar -- Theory of MHD Turbulence with Helicity, Annick Pouquet, ASP

3:30 p.m.

Fleischmann Building

NCAR Staff Notes/No. 409Page 12

THURSDAY, May 2

* AAP Seminar -- Credibility of Historic Data and Subsequent Analysis ofSummer Monsoon Regime, Henry van de Boogaard, AAP

10:30 a.m.Fleischmann Building

* HAO Colloquium -- Dynamic Model of Solar Coronal Spicules, S. K. Sahai,University of Wyoming

11:00 a.m.HAO Classroom 138

* Mesoscale Modeling Club Meeting -- Survey of Measurement Capabilities inRemote Sensing, Gerald Grams, AAP

3:00 p.m.Fleischmann Building

FRIDAY, May 3

* NCAR Prize Lecture -- Rainer Bleck

3:30 p.m.NCAR Mesa Laboratory, Seminar Room

MONDAY, May 6

Open

Calendar Notes announcements may be called to Vonda Giesey, extension 586.Wednesday at 12:00 noon is the deadline for items to be included in the CalendarNotes.

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