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A 'transfer tunnel' used for the safe movement of radioactive material, in the new plutonium processing facility A90. |
Pochin was a world famous radiologist whose experience of
nuclear weapons work went back to the US weapons tests in 1946 at
Bikini, in which he had taken part. Pochin had been asked to carry
out the work after routine monitoring indicated that three women
working in Aldermaston's laundry appeared to have levels of
plutonium in their lungs in excess of the level recommended by the
International Commission on Radiological Protection.
Pochin found that, whilst emissions to the environment posed no
hazard to the health of local people, the reliability of health
protection measures for the workforce was affected due to
inadequate staffing in the key areas of health physics and
maintenance. He recommended that staff levels in these areas be
increased 'as a matter of some urgency'.
He also found that whilst conditions in most buildings could be
improved by simple methods such as improved ventilation, certain
buildings presented 'particular problems, especially in containment
of radioactivity and of ventilation'.
The Pochin Report led to major improvements in health and
safety, materials handling and waste management. In July 1980,
Pochin himself officially opened a Whole Body Monitor at
Aldermaston - one of only seven in the country.
It was a significant addition to AWE's ability to keep a close
watch on the health of its workforce, with up to 2,500 employees a
year being routinely scanned.
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