Prior to the exercises an examination on the fundamentals of radiological safety was given
to the class to determine the level of instruction to be conducted. These fundamentals included:
1, Radioactivity.
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‘a. Concept of radioactivity resulting from atomic detonations,
b. Definition of the following terms: radiation, alpha particle, beta particle, gamma
radiation, decay, fission, curie, roentgen, milliroentgen per hour, radiation inten-
sity, and attenuation.
c. Range and energy relations of fission-product radiations.
2. Biological effects.
a. Concept of ionization.
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b. External and internal radiation hazards.
c. Radiation dosages.
(1) Lethal (acute and chronic).
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(2) Probable early effects of acute radiation dosage over the whole body.
(3) Local effects, beta-ray burns,
(4) Symptoms of radiation sickness.
3. Recognition of radiation hazards.
a. Methods of detection of nuclear radiation by film, crystal, ionization, and heat.
b. Survey meters.
c. Pocket dosimeters.
d. Photographic film badges.
4. Protection of personnel from radiation hazards.
a. Shielding characteristics of materials.
b. Control of radiation dosage.
c. Clothing and equipment.
d. Decontamination facilities.
e. Safety indoctrination.
A prerequisite for attendance at the school was a reading knowledge of the foregoing fundamentals.
Instructors for the conduct of the initial course were provided by the Health Division,
LASL; UCRL; EG&G; Ist RSSU; and JTF-7.
The second and third schools at Bikini and Eniwetok were attended by much smaller groups
and received a one-day condensed version of the afore-mentioned exercises. These secondary
courses were considered only as emergency supplementary instruction and left much to be desired in the qualification of monitors. Instructors for these schools were obtained from TU-7
personnel.
3.2. UNIT SPECIALIST TRAINING
The lack of continuity in operations and the loss of experienced personnel between operations necessitated the establishment of a program of training for unit specialists, i.e., labora-
tory technician, photodosimetry technician, and radiological-instrument repairman, Schooling
for instrument repairmen was arranged through JTF-7 and AFSWP at the U. S. Naval Schools,
Treasure Island, San Francisco, This technical schooling consisted of one month of instruction
in the maintenance and repair of military radiac instruments. All the unit repairmen were
graduates of this school.
Special arrangements were made with the Nucleonics Branch of the Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories to conduct familiarization courses with mobile field laboratories for the
laboratory and photodosimetry technicians. Photodosimetry technicians attended a one-week
special course and laboratory technicians attended a two-week special course at Evans Signal
Laboratory early in October 1953.
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