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RADIOLOGICAL MONITORING FOR CIVIL DEFENSE
ACME
J. B. H. Kuper
For the past year and a half I have been an interested observer of the
The
efforts to create a radiological monitoring system for civil defense purposes.
slow progress in this direction has been of increasing concern and now that some
ef the state and lecal authorities appear to have decided not to wait longer for
advice from Washington it seems time to speak up.
My impression is that too much
attention has been paid in the past to instrument specifications and not enough to
the team organization and the nature of the mission to be accomplished, and that
the latter holds the key to the situation.
I want to emphasize that these remarks
are my own personal conclusions and do not in any way represent official views of
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Associated Universities, Inc. or the Atomic Energy
Commission.
The importance of radiological monitoring as a civil defense function has
often been greatly exaggerated, but since there is a possibility of a radiation
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hazard ~ which cannot be detected by the senses directly - some provision mst be
made for handling it, if only for morale reasons.
Popular ignorance and the
natural fear of the unknown have combined to create a situation in which even
police and fire departments - who already have far too many responsibilities in
the event of atomic attack - are undertaking the functions of radiation monttors,
supposedly for their owm protection.
In view of the general fear of radiation
hazards one shudders to think of the panic and confusion that will arise if instru-
ments are used freely by personnel with inadequate training in their foibles and
in the interpretation of results.
Because of the complexities of gamma, beta and
alpha radiations, not to speak of the differences between external radiation hazards
and those accompanying inhalation, swallowing or injection with various radioisotopes, no single meter reading can ever be sufficient for all situations.
And
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