Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) 
 
SERIES TITLE Phillips Petroleum Company Health Physics and Reactor 
             Background  Radiation Logs and Reports 
 
 
INCLUSIVE DATES 1951 1964 
 
 
ARRANGEMENT Within the logs, chronological; otherwise none 
 
 
VOLUME 5 cubic feet 
 
 
DESCRIPTION 
The bulk of these records are logs kept by the Materials 
Test Reactor, Health Physics Section. Since 1951, a continuous survey 
of background radiation was kept at the Idaho National Engineering 
Laboratory by the Health Physics section or the Health and Safety Division 
of the Phillips Petroleum Company. The survey was maintained in these 
logbooks. Start-up logs appear to be the first logs kept of a reactor. 
The logs record the background radiation day by day. Information includes 
the location, date, time of day the reading was taken, the background 
radiation count, and narrative comments. Health Physics logs were also 
recorded by date and shift, and include the work done by employees, 
and the names of employees in each area of the reactor. They also include 
records of isotopes acquired. There is some mention of System for Nuclear 
Auxiliary Power (SNAP) tests. Also included are Radioactivity Incident 
Reports which include the supervisor's name, the names of personnel 
involved, the date and time of the incident, the material involved, 
narratives of the incidents, graphs, records of medical examinations 
conducted, and tissue or excreta samples collected and examined. These 
reports include thyroid exposure data for the iodine exposure incident in 
1958. There are also logbooks of hot-waste-water storage tank samples and 
safe work permits. 
 
LOCATION OF RECORDS 
Federal Records Center 
Seattle, WA 98115