PISCES Research Program PISCESB investigates PMI with Becontaining

PISCES Research Program PISCES-B investigates PMI with Be-containing materials Presented by R. P. Doerner for the PISCES Team R. P. Doerner – ITER Be workshop, 6/28/17 PISCES

PISCES began research on Be in 1993 PISCES • No known releases of Be contamination from PISCES Lab – Background soil levels are important to characterize – Housekeeping, SOPs are constantly being updated • No reported Be-related health issues for employees (36 total Be workers over the years) – Controls for monitoring Be locations are important – Strict controls for personnel access to Be locations – Cal OSHA and USDOE regulations govern all aspects of Be work • Be throughput has been less than 10 kg total – Although small, a large fraction has been turned into respirable dust due to contact with plasma – Vacuum vessels are first level of containment, enclosure is secondary – Redundant safety features used throughout R. P. Doerner – ITER Be workshop, 6/28/17

PISCES program philosophy toward Be safety PISCES • During construction we believed that a university laboratory environment required us to employ stricter, more conservative, Be safety limits – This turned out to be valuable due to the changing Be safety regulations, as occurred during the late 1990 s • Strive for no detectable Be migrating outside Be restricted areas of the laboratory – All items removed from Be contaminated areas must be swiped and have no measureable Be contamination, < 0. 05 mg/ft 2 (0. 54 mg/m 2) LOD (2 mg/ft 2 (21. 53 mg/m 2) per DOE regulations) – Airborne samples should be below 0. 01 mg/m 3 LOD (0. 2 mg/m 3 TWA per Cal. OSHA and DOE regulations) [1 mm cube in ITER Be storage facility] • All UCSD Be workers have the right, and responsibility, to shut down Be operations due to safety concerns until a safe alternative can be achieved. R. P. Doerner – ITER Be workshop, 6/28/17

Class 100 negative pressure clean room built PISCES • Plasma device resides within a separate room in the lab • Controlled personnel access using full-face, air-supplied respirators (15 min of back up breathing air cylinders) • Tacky mats installed on both sides of all doors • Hepa-filtered air flow (~110 m 3/min, volume turn over approximately once per minute with people inside) (once per 5 minutes in standby) • Fume hood emergency building backup electrical power generator used to maintain negative pressure • Periodic monitoring (swipe and air) for Be contamination MAIN ENTRANCE GREEN YELLOW RED MAIN ENCLOSURE EMERGENCY EXIT NOT TO SCALE DOWN DRAFT FUME HOOD TDS GA Be COATER TOOLS R. P. Doerner – ITER Be workshop, 6/28/17 DECON ROOM

Personnel access into PISCES Be enclosure PISCES • Coordinator (outside) and 2 Be workers (inside) during all entries • Full-body, disposable Tyvek suits used to enter enclosure • Outer gloves changed after handling Be contaminated material to limit cross contamination and migration • Repetitive wipe down decontamination procedure used on exit • All Be activities are governed by written, reviewed SOPs R. P. Doerner – ITER Be workshop, 6/28/17

PISCES SEM facility is also restricted Be area PISCES • Dedicated surface diagnostic room (SEM, laser confocal microscope), since we are not allowed to use campus facilities • Access restricted to Be workers • Be sample storage area in building fume hood – All samples stored in sealed, double bags – Negative pressure maintained in emergencies, power outages • Half mask cartridge style respirators, safety glasses, labcoat and gloves worn whenever Be samples removed from containers – Loading into surface diagnostic systems • Wet wipe down of all work surfaces after Be sample transfers • Monthly cleaning of room surfaces, floor and fume hood R. P. Doerner – ITER Be workshop, 6/28/17

Be monitoring: air sampling PISCES • Air Sampling/monitoring is the primary method for determining the degree of exposure and effectiveness of engineering controls. • All personal air sample results are confidential and should not have names associated with them. • DOE – Requires that we determine workers’ 8 -hour TWA exposure levels using personal air breathing zone sampling. – Requires that we do sufficient air sampling to adequately characterize exposure levels • AIHA suggests taking 7 to 15 air samples due to variations in work processes – Requires that we take personal air samples at least every three months if processes changes, or if any levels are above 0. 2 mg/m 3 • UCSD EH&S – Requested that we do personal air samples at least once a year given our low levels of exposures based on our current air sampling data. R. P. Doerner – ITER Be workshop, 6/28/17

Be monitoring: swipe sampling PISCES • Surfaces contaminated with beryllium dust must not exceed a removable contamination level of 0. 2 µg/100 cm² (2µg/ft²) per DOE during non operational periods. This requirement does not include the interior of installed closed systems such as enclosures, glove boxes, chambers, or ventilation systems. • Swipe sampling results are used only to determine our housekeeping efforts in minimizing beryllium exposures and determining migration patterns. • The OSHA approved media for sampling is Ghostwipes®, which are accurate to 0. 05 µgram. • There are specific swipe sampling techniques. R. P. Doerner – ITER Be workshop, 6/28/17

Periodic air and swipe Be sampling conducted throughout the laboratory PISCES • Over 100 air samples collected, only 3 had measureable Be (all were below 0. 2 mg/m 3 TWA regulatory limit) detected during major machine vents/repairs • Monthly swipe sample collection both inside and outside Be enclosure (decreased to every two months after we determined typical Be migration patterns) • Swipe sample frequency is increased following non-standard events/operations • Be safety procedures evolve based on collected data – Vent procedures, floor cleaning initiated after each machine vent • Be sample analysis conducted at outside certified lab – Prepared samples used to gain confidence in results • All Be related records are kept until end of research program R. P. Doerner – ITER Be workshop, 6/28/17

UCSD Be worker medical surveillance & training PISCES • CBDPP* Medical Surveillance (UCSD OHSP) includes: – Medical and work history with emphasis on past, present, and future exposure to beryllium. (required yearly for respirator use) – Respiratory symptoms questionnaire (required yearly for respirator use) – Physical examination (recommended yearly) – Chest x-ray; before, every 5 years, after, and as needed. (recommended) – Spirometry- PFT&DLCO - measures diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide: lung efficiency (recommended yearly) – Be-LPT (optional) – Any other tests deemed appropriate by physician. • UCSD EH&S respirator fit and function test (required yearly) • In-house Be safety refresher course & emergency SCBA (selfcontained breathing apparatus) training (required yearly) * DOE Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program, Final Rule, 10 CFR Part 850 R. P. Doerner – ITER Be workshop, 6/28/17

Release criteria to other Be facility, no release of Be exposed material to non-Be facility is allowed PISCES In order to release equipment, or material, to another Be facility, DOE requires the following: • Clean the article so that removable contamination levels do not exceed 3µg/100 cm² (28µg/ft²) • The article must be properly labeled • The article is enclosed in sealed, impermeable bags or containers to prevent the release of Be dust during handling and transport • The release is conditional to the recipient’s commitment to implement controls to prevent foreseeable Be exposure, considering the nature of the equipment and its use. • The recipient must sign a conditional beryllium release form prior to any materials being released. • The article is considered hazardous material and should only be shipped through UCSD’s shipping department’s dangerous goods shipping coordinator. They are trained to handle all the DOT shipping requirements, regulations, and documentation. It is wise to verify cleanliness of received shipments R. P. Doerner – ITER Be workshop, 6/28/17

Be particulate generation PISCES • No machining of Be is allowed at PISCES • Erosion of Be in plasma device creates layers deposited on chamber walls, continual exfoliation is observed • Eroded surfaces can present delicate morphologies • Water coolant leak interacted with Be deposits generating a ‘Be snowstorm’ inside the vacuum chamber • Sample analysis (TDS, AES, SEM) also generates chamber contamination R. P. Doerner – ITER Be workshop, 6/28/17

Conclusions from PISCES Be experience PISCES • PISCES employs a conservative approach to Be safety due to our university environment and potential for generating large quantities of respirable particles • Our conservative approach helped alleviate safety system redesigns as regulatory limits became stricter • 24 years of Be operations without any significant release event or health related problems being reported • Visiting scientists often use their experience at PISCES to tighten up Be safety after returning to their home institutions • The PISCES team is proud of its Be safety record R. P. Doerner – ITER Be workshop, 6/28/17