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TABLE 1
Tracer Mineral Data
Melting or
Tracer Mineral
Microcline (KA1Si30g)
Disintegration Point
(%)
1176-1450
—
Amount Used.
(tons)
-
30
Barite
(BeSO,)
1580
3
Quartz
(Sip)
1710
3
Rutile
(Ti0,)
1840
2
Zircon
(ZrSi0y)
2550
3
At shot time the winds were unfavorable so that usable amounts of fali-~’
out were collected at only one islend station. As has been described above,
the temperature 9% which the fallout particles received their radioactive
contamination exceeded the melting point of caleium oxide so that all the
lower melting minerals were either completely melted or vaporized. None of
the tracer minerals were recovered in an unaltered form.
However, spectro-
graphic analysis revealed the presence of certain characteristic elements
from the tracer minerals in the fallout particles. In order to determine
the fate of the tracer minerals, a 125-mg sample of fallout particles was
accumulated and a chemical analysis wes made for their iron and calcium
content, as well as for certain of the elements found in the tracer minerals
but not found in appreciable quantities in the coral sand or in the tower or
associated etructiures. The weight of the iron in the tower is kmown and, by
assuming that the composition of the analyzed fallout particles is representative of the composition of the fireball material, it is possible to compute
the weight of the coral sand andof the tracer minerals which entered the
fireball and were involved in fellout particle formation. The results of
these computations ere given in Tgble 2.
While these figures can be considered as only approximations due to the
inaccuracies in analyzing for such small amounts of material and due to the
error inherent in the assumption concerning the representativeness of the
sample, nevertheless it can be seen that a substantial fraction of the tracer
minerals and about 264 tons of coral sand entered into fallout particle
formation.
11
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