FALLOUT CESIUM 137 IN UTAH RESIDENTS:
1958
C.W. Mays
Concern has been expressed (1) relating to the radioactive fallout burdens
carried by people who live close to the Nevada Test Site.
It has recently
been possible for us to measure Cesium 137!) in twenty residents of Southwest
Utah
(near the
Nevada
Test
Site)
and
compare these
body
gamma-ray
scintillation
counter
with
those
for
Measurements were made with
residents of Salt Lake City, Utah, and elsewhere.
a whole
values
patterned
after
Van
Dilla's
.
original dog counter (3) and the Los Alamos human counter’ ),
Cesium 137 and
Potassium 40 were determined by a method similar to that described by
Anderson
4
(5) .
The twenty residents of Southwestern Utah were divided into two groups;
those who lived in St.
Utah,
George,
where the fallout was fairly heavy
in
1953, and those from surrounding areas in which the fallout was considerably
lower.
All these persons had lived in Southwest Utah at least one year prior
to our measurements
and most had
lived there all
their lives.
persons
All.
were measured between November 1957 and November 1958.
Results are as follows:
NUMBER OF
PERSONS
LOCATION
St. George, Utah
MICROMICRO CURIES OF Cs
GRAM OF POTASSIUM
11
59
9
61
Salt Lake €ity, Utah
43
Outside of Utah
il
67
51
Other S.W. Utah Areas
Individual
measurements (©
deviation of +36%.
were
normally
distributed with
The difference in Cesium values between
a
standard
residents of
Southwest Utah and Salt Lake City was not significant. This came as a surprise as we had anticipated a higher Cesium content in people living near the
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