.
4
Ae eh ee en ene mee
Soe
BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE _
UNCLASSIFIED
CIVIL EFFECTS ACTIVITIES
Civil Effects Exercise 58-1
A civil effects exercise was conducted at the NevadaTest Site (NTS) during May under the
technical leadership of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to determine shielding characteristics of typical structures remaining at NTS and the value of simple modifications and other
. methods of improving the shielding. The objective of this exercise was to develop data useful
in the preparation of standards for fallout protection and to find inexpensive. means of im-.
proving or improvizing sheltérs. Another important phase ofthe exercise was the collection
of data on which to base specifications for a vehicle equipped with radiation sources and
instruments for evaluating the shelter characteristics of homes. Lo
Civil Effects Exercise 58-2 -
-
ve
4
ae
A brief but intense temperature rise at the time of nuclear detonation was noted in certain
large shelters at NTS, particularly during Operation TEAPOTexperiments in 1955. A civil
. effects exercise was scheduled for a 2-week period during August at NTS to determine the ©
attenuation of light by the configuration of these shelters in an effort to determine the. physical
basis for the temperature rise. Data on temperature rises in shelters is essential tothe
development of acceptable criteria for protective construction.
-Civil Effects Exercise 58-3
~~
' During June personnel of the Atomic Energy Project of the University of California at Los
Angeles initiated a resurvey of the radiation levels in and around the Nevada Test Site. A
detailed survey of the Jackass Flats area, which was to be completed prior to the commencement of reactor testing activities in that area, was to include sampling of soil, plants, and
animals as well as monitoring of radiation levels. This information may be useful to projected
ecological studies.
Planning for Future Civil Effects Tests
In order to lay a firm foundation for participation in future test operations, task units
were established to review existing information on various subjects and to determine the types
of field experiments that would furnish the most urgently needed data and the preliminary
laboratory work that would complement these experiments. These groups, each composed of
six or more specialists, are conducting studies of radiobiology, fallout, ecology, genetics,
blast biology, thermal biology and effects, physical damage to structures, countermeasures —
and decontamination, and radiation dosimetry and other instrumentation.
A group of 15 ecologists met May 27—29 at the Nevada Test Site to consider research
needs and opportunities in this area. This survey of NTS was only a part of the group’s total
program; its recommendations for ecological research were expected to cover all aspects of
interest to the AEC.
BACKGROUND RADIATION SURVEY OF ATOMIC ENERGY INSTALLATIONS
Arrangements were made with the U. S. Geological Surveyfor airborne background ra-
diation surveys of sizable portions of the United States, including all major AEC production
sites, licensee reactor sites, and the Nevada Test Site. The data obtained by the Geological
Survey and maps prepared from these data should provide a basis for appraisal of changes in
levels of radiation in the environment brought about by the testing program, reactor. operation,
AEC plants, and radiation accidents.
UNCLASSIFIED