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{{Redirect|Atomic man|the Headline Comics character|Atomic Man}} |
{{Redirect|Atomic man|the Headline Comics character|Atomic Man}} |
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{{short description|American chemist involved in a radiation exposure accident in 1976}} |
{{short description|American chemist involved in a radiation exposure accident in 1976}} |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} |
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{{Infobox person |
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| name = Harold R. McCluskey |
| name = Harold R. McCluskey |
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| birth_name = Harold Ralph McCluskey |
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| birth_date = {{Birth date|1912|07|12}} |
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1912|07|12}} |
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| birth_place = [[Decatur, Nebraska]], U.S. |
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| death_date = {{Death date and age|1987|08|17|1912|07|12}} |
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1987|08|17|1912|07|12}} |
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| death_place = [[Puyallup, Washington]], USA<ref name="AP" /> |
| death_place = [[Puyallup, Washington]], USA<ref name="AP" /> |
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| employer = Atlantic Richfield Hanford Co.<ref name="AP" /> |
| employer = Atlantic Richfield Hanford Co.<ref name="AP" /> |
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| known_for = Surviving americium radiation exposure |
| known_for = Surviving americium radiation exposure |
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| spouse = {{marriage |Ella |
| spouse = {{marriage |Ella Morrow|1936}} |
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| children = 2 |
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}} |
}} |
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'''Harold |
'''Harold Ralph McCluskey''' (July 12, 1912 – August 17, 1987) was a [[chemical technician|chemical operations technician]] at the [[Plutonium Finishing Plant|Hanford Plutonium Finishing Plant]] located in [[Washington (state)|Washington]] State; he is known for having survived exposure to the highest dose of radiation from [[americium]] ever recorded.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Heid |first1=K R |last2=Palmer |first2=B D |last3=McMurray |first3=B J |last4=Wald |first4=N |title=1976 Hanford americium accident |date=1979-01-01 |doi=10.2172/6419623 |publisher=United States |journal=OSTI.gov|osti=6419623 }}</ref> He became known as the "Atomic Man".<ref name="tristateherald">{{cite news |first=Annette |last=Cary |title=Doctor remembers Hanford's 'Atomic Man' |newspaper=[[Tri-City Herald]] |url= http://www.hanfordnews.com/news/2008/story/11403.html |date=April 25, 2008 |access-date=March 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210232231/http://www.hanfordnews.com/news/2008/story/11403.html |archive-date = February 10, 2010 | url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name="People">{{Cite magazine|last=Mahar|first=Margaret|date=1984-12-03|title=Blasted in a Radiation Accident Eight Years Ago, Harold McCluskey Is Still the Hottest Human Alive|url=https://people.com/archive/blasted-in-a-radiation-accident-eight-years-ago-harold-mccluskey-is-still-the-hottest-human-alive-vol-22-no-23/|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415045748/https://people.com/archive/blasted-in-a-radiation-accident-eight-years-ago-harold-mccluskey-is-still-the-hottest-human-alive-vol-22-no-23/|archive-date=2019-04-15|access-date=2021-08-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historylink.org/File/5692 |title=Harold McCluskey becomes the Atomic Man at Hanford on August 30, 1976. |first=David |last=Wilma |date=23 April 2004 |website=HistoryLink.org |access-date=7 December 2018}}</ref> |
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== Early life == |
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McCluskey was born in [[Decatur, Nebraska]] and attended Riverside High School.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=1987-08-21 |title=Harold R. McCluskey |pages=9 |work=[[Tri-City Herald]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/821189533/}}</ref> He then worked as a mechanic and a farmer and in 1936 married Ella Morrow.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="People" /> In 1948 he moved to [[Prosser, Washington]] and began working at the [[Hanford Site]].<ref name=":0" /> |
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==Accident== |
==Accident== |
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On August 30, 1976, McCluskey, |
On August 30, 1976, McCluskey, then 64, was exposed to 500 times the occupational standard for [[americium-241]], a [[plutonium]] byproduct, as the result of an accident in a [[glove box]] resulting in an explosion. As [[nitric acid]] was added to a column containing an [[ion-exchange resin]] and americium, the chemicals exploded, blowing out "pieces of glass and plastic" ([[plexiglass]]<ref name="AP">{{Cite news|date=August 18, 1987|title=Nuclear Accident Survivor Dies|author=<!--Not stated-->|work=[[The Associated Press]]|url=https://apnews.com/article/ae1448477fc4d729eeea0fbca62b14ab|access-date=2021-08-18}}</ref>) from the glove box.<ref name=tristateherald/> McCluskey was hit on the right side by a mixture of nitric acid, broken glass, americium and ion exchange resin, which led to him suffering an exposure of at least 37 M[[Becquerel|Bq]] of radioactivity.<ref name=Gonzalez>{{cite magazine |last=González |first=Abel J. |date=September 1999 |title=Strengthening the Safety of Radiation Sources & the Security of Radioactive Materials: Timely Action |volume=14 | issue=3 |url=https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/publications/magazines/bulletin/bull41-3/41302080217.pdf#page=14 |magazine=IAEA Bulletin |publisher=[[International Atomic Energy Agency]] |access-date=March 6, 2017 }}</ref> <ref name="dademoeller.com">{{cite speech |title=The 1976 Hanford Americium Accident, Then and Now |first=Eugene H. |last=Carbaugh |event=59th Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society |location=Baltimore, MD |date=July 14, 2014 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002035006/https://www.dademoeller.com/dademoellerblog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/2014-08-Americium-Incident-Carbaugh.pdf |access-date=March 6, 2017 }}</ref> <!-- source post-dates creation of this article, refers to it in section on social media / public perception --> |
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==Treatment== |
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McCluskey was helped from the room, had his clothing removed and was washed with water at the scene. He was transferred to a decontamination facility where he was washed again and given a dose of one gram of [[Calcium|Ca]]-DTPA on arrival. For the first week he had two baths per day, then he had one bath per day for two months. For the first five days he was treated with the calcium complex of [[DTPA]] and then after that for four years he was treated with a total of 583 grams of the [[zinc]] complex of DTPA. The treatment reduced the systemic deposition to 500 kBq instead of the 19 MBq which he would otherwise have retained inside his body. |
McCluskey was helped from the room, had his clothing removed and was washed with water at the scene. He was transferred to a decontamination facility where he was washed again and given a dose of one gram of [[Calcium|Ca]]-DTPA on arrival. For the first week he had two baths per day, then he had one bath per day for two months. For the first five days he was treated with the calcium complex of [[DTPA]] and then after that for four years he was treated with a total of 583 grams of the [[zinc]] complex of DTPA. The treatment reduced the systemic deposition to 500 kBq instead of the 19 MBq which he would otherwise have retained inside his body. |
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Because of risk of exposure to other individuals, McCluskey was placed in isolation in the Hanford Emergency Decontamination Facility for five months and underwent [[chelation therapy]] using [[DTPA]] by Dr. Bryce Breitenstein.<ref name=tristateherald/> By 1977, his body's radiation count had fallen by about 80%. When McCluskey returned home, friends and church members avoided him. His minister finally had to tell people it was safe to be around him.<ref>{{cite news |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=June 3, 2005 |title=Hanford nuclear workers enter site of worst contamination accident |newspaper=[[Billings Gazette]] |access-date=March 6, 2017 |url=http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/06/03/build/nation/94-contamination.inc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013185723/http://www.billingsgazette.com/newdex.php?display=rednews%2F2005%2F06%2F03%2Fbuild%2Fnation%2F94-contamination.inc |archive-date=October 13, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
Because of risk of exposure to other individuals, McCluskey was placed in isolation in the Hanford Emergency Decontamination Facility for five months and underwent [[chelation therapy]] using [[DTPA]] by Dr. Bryce Breitenstein.<ref name=tristateherald/> By 1977, his body's radiation count had fallen by about 80%. When McCluskey returned home, friends and church members avoided him. His minister finally had to tell people it was safe to be around him.<ref>{{cite news |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=June 3, 2005 |title=Hanford nuclear workers enter site of worst contamination accident |newspaper=[[Billings Gazette]] |access-date=March 6, 2017 |url=http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/06/03/build/nation/94-contamination.inc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013185723/http://www.billingsgazette.com/newdex.php?display=rednews%2F2005%2F06%2F03%2Fbuild%2Fnation%2F94-contamination.inc |archive-date=October 13, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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==Afterwards== |
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Although McCluskey largely avoided the media, Breitenstein said McCluskey sometimes accompanied him when he gave lectures on the case.<ref name=tristateherald/> "He really wanted people to know what happened as long as it is rationally presented," Breitenstein said. Several times after the explosion, McCluskey spoke in favor of developing nuclear power, saying he saw his injuries as the result of "purely an industrial accident." |
Although McCluskey largely avoided the media, Breitenstein said McCluskey sometimes accompanied him when he gave lectures on the case.<ref name=tristateherald/> "He really wanted people to know what happened as long as it is rationally presented," Breitenstein said. Several times after the explosion, McCluskey spoke in favor of developing nuclear power, saying he saw his injuries as the result of "purely an industrial accident." |
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==Death== |
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He died on August 17, 1987, of [[coronary artery disease]]. He had this disease before the accident, and a [[Autopsy|post mortem examination]] found no signs of cancer. At the time of his death he had 55 kBq of americium in his soft tissues (27.9 kBq in the liver), 470 kBq in the mineral surfaces of the bones, and 20 kBq in his bone marrow.<ref name="dademoeller.com"/> |
He died on August 17, 1987, of [[coronary artery disease]] in [[Puyallup, Washington]]. He had this disease before the accident, and a [[Autopsy|post mortem examination]] found no signs of cancer. At the time of his death he had 55 [[Becquerel|kBq]] of americium in his soft tissues (27.9 kBq in the liver), 470 kBq in the mineral surfaces of the bones, and 20 kBq in his bone marrow.<ref name="dademoeller.com"/> |
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== See also == |
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* [[Anatoli Bugorski]] |
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* [[List of civilian radiation accidents]] |
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== References == |
== References == |
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[[Category:1912 births]] |
[[Category:1912 births]] |
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[[Category:1987 deaths]] |
[[Category:1987 deaths]] |
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[[Category:Victims of radiological poisoning]] |
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[[Category:People from Prosser, Washington]] |
[[Category:People from Prosser, Washington]] |
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[[Category:Hanford Site people]] |
[[Category:Hanford Site people]] |
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[[Category:Americium]] |
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[[Category:People from Decatur, Nebraska]] |
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Latest revision as of 08:01, 13 November 2024
Harold R. McCluskey | |
|---|---|
| Born | Harold Ralph McCluskey July 12, 1912 Decatur, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Died | August 17, 1987 (aged 75) |
| Occupation | Chemical operations technician |
| Employer | Atlantic Richfield Hanford Co.[1] |
| Known for | Surviving americium radiation exposure |
| Spouse |
Ella Morrow (m. 1936) |
| Children | 2 |
Harold Ralph McCluskey (July 12, 1912 – August 17, 1987) was a chemical operations technician at the Hanford Plutonium Finishing Plant located in Washington State; he is known for having survived exposure to the highest dose of radiation from americium ever recorded.[2] He became known as the "Atomic Man".[3][4][5]
Early life
[edit]McCluskey was born in Decatur, Nebraska and attended Riverside High School.[6] He then worked as a mechanic and a farmer and in 1936 married Ella Morrow.[6][4] In 1948 he moved to Prosser, Washington and began working at the Hanford Site.[6]
Accident
[edit]On August 30, 1976, McCluskey, then 64, was exposed to 500 times the occupational standard for americium-241, a plutonium byproduct, as the result of an accident in a glove box resulting in an explosion. As nitric acid was added to a column containing an ion-exchange resin and americium, the chemicals exploded, blowing out "pieces of glass and plastic" (plexiglass[1]) from the glove box.[3] McCluskey was hit on the right side by a mixture of nitric acid, broken glass, americium and ion exchange resin, which led to him suffering an exposure of at least 37 MBq of radioactivity.[7] [8]
Treatment
[edit]McCluskey was helped from the room, had his clothing removed and was washed with water at the scene. He was transferred to a decontamination facility where he was washed again and given a dose of one gram of Ca-DTPA on arrival. For the first week he had two baths per day, then he had one bath per day for two months. For the first five days he was treated with the calcium complex of DTPA and then after that for four years he was treated with a total of 583 grams of the zinc complex of DTPA. The treatment reduced the systemic deposition to 500 kBq instead of the 19 MBq which he would otherwise have retained inside his body.
Because of risk of exposure to other individuals, McCluskey was placed in isolation in the Hanford Emergency Decontamination Facility for five months and underwent chelation therapy using DTPA by Dr. Bryce Breitenstein.[3] By 1977, his body's radiation count had fallen by about 80%. When McCluskey returned home, friends and church members avoided him. His minister finally had to tell people it was safe to be around him.[9]
Afterwards
[edit]Although McCluskey largely avoided the media, Breitenstein said McCluskey sometimes accompanied him when he gave lectures on the case.[3] "He really wanted people to know what happened as long as it is rationally presented," Breitenstein said. Several times after the explosion, McCluskey spoke in favor of developing nuclear power, saying he saw his injuries as the result of "purely an industrial accident."
Death
[edit]He died on August 17, 1987, of coronary artery disease in Puyallup, Washington. He had this disease before the accident, and a post mortem examination found no signs of cancer. At the time of his death he had 55 kBq of americium in his soft tissues (27.9 kBq in the liver), 470 kBq in the mineral surfaces of the bones, and 20 kBq in his bone marrow.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Nuclear Accident Survivor Dies". The Associated Press. August 18, 1987. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
- ^ Heid, K R; Palmer, B D; McMurray, B J; Wald, N (January 1, 1979). "1976 Hanford americium accident". OSTI.gov. United States. doi:10.2172/6419623. OSTI 6419623.
- ^ a b c d Cary, Annette (April 25, 2008). "Doctor remembers Hanford's 'Atomic Man'". Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on February 10, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ^ a b Mahar, Margaret (December 3, 1984). "Blasted in a Radiation Accident Eight Years Ago, Harold McCluskey Is Still the Hottest Human Alive". People. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
- ^ Wilma, David (April 23, 2004). "Harold McCluskey becomes the Atomic Man at Hanford on August 30, 1976". HistoryLink.org. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Harold R. McCluskey". Tri-City Herald. August 21, 1987. p. 9.
- ^ González, Abel J. (September 1999). "Strengthening the Safety of Radiation Sources & the Security of Radioactive Materials: Timely Action" (PDF). IAEA Bulletin. Vol. 14, no. 3. International Atomic Energy Agency. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ^ a b Carbaugh, Eugene H. (July 14, 2014). The 1976 Hanford Americium Accident, Then and Now (PDF) (Speech). 59th Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society. Baltimore, MD. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ^ "Hanford nuclear workers enter site of worst contamination accident". Billings Gazette. Associated Press. June 3, 2005. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
Further reading
[edit]- Health Physics, October 1983 - Volume 45 - Issue 4 - dedicated to the accident in 1983 (Health Physics Society)
- Workers Demolish McCluskey Room at Hanford (KGMI)