For this ongoing project about the former nuclear fuel processing facility located in Apollo, Pennsylvania, RAC has reconstructed uranium emissions to air during its years of operation (July 1957 – April 1983). To this end, RAC reviewed more than 2.5 million pages of historical records relating to the operation of the Apollo facility. The uranium release estimates were coupled with atmospheric dispersion and transport model calculations to establish the time history of ambient air concentrations in the region. These data are then combined with the residence history of an individual to provide organ-specific dose estimates associated with facility emissions. The dose calculations account for age at exposure and gender.
Breathing air was the primary pathway of exposure to uranium emissions for residents of the area. The doses received in all cases were small.