-

Results of Calculations
of External Gamma

Radiation Exposure Rates

from Local Fallout and the
Related Radionuclide

Compositions of Selected
U.S. Pacific Events
Abstract

This report presents data on calculated gamma radiation exposure rates and local

surface deposition of related radionuclides resulting from selected U.S. Pacific events.

Introduction
In the past, wehave calculated the normal-

ized external gamma radiation exposure rates that

resulted from local fallout from the Nevada Test

Site (NTS).' These calculations have been used in

Table 1. Date, placement, and yield of selected U.S. Pacific events.

Event

Date

Placement

the reconstruction of radiation doses downwind
of NTS. More recently, we were asked to make

Mike
Bravo

Oct. 31, 1952
Feb. 28, 1954

Surface
Surface

of doses to personnel participating in nuclear tests

Yankee

May 4, 1954

Barge

similar calculations to assist in the reconstruction

in the Pacific. This report contains the results of
these calculations that we made and that were

used by the Nuclear Test Personnel Review of the
Defense Nuclear Agency and its contractors.

Romeo
Zuni

Tewa

Mar.26, 1954

Barge

May 27, 1956

Surface

July 20, 1956

Barge

Yield (MT)
10.4
15.0

11.0
13.5

3.5
5.0

The selected U.S. Pacific events’ are listed in

Table 1.

Results
Results of the calculations of relative external
gamma radiation exposure rate and related radionuclide ground deposition are given in the Appendices. These calculations are described in detail in Ref. 3. The output of the calculation has 30
decay times: 10 from 1 to 21h, 10 from 1 to 300 d,
and 10 from 1 to 50 y. For each of these times and

for zero time, there are values of the external
gamma radiation exposure rate normalized to
1 mR/h, 1 m above the surface, 12 h after the
event; the associated values of uCi/m* for each
radionuclide; and the total wCi/m?,

Surface roughness effects are simulated by

using Beck’s values’ of (mR/h)/(uCi/m?) for a re-

laxation length of 0.16 g/cm*. According to Beck,

the concentration of fallout varies exponentially
with soil depth, Z, according to the relation

C = C,e~"*. He defines relaxation length as 1/q.

Fractionation effects were simulated by the
removal of a fraction of the refractory nuclides
from the calculation. Calculations for each event
were performed for unfractionated debris and tor
debris with 0.5 and 0.1 of the refractory elements
present.
Each Appendix contains three sets of 11
pages of calculated results relating to one event in
Table 1. Each set of 11 pages is marked Page 2
through Page 12. Page 2 of each set gives the external gamma-ray exposure rates and associated
values of total microcuries per square meter at 30

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