Chapter
3
RESULTS
3.1 RADIOCHEMICAL ANALYSES OF PARTICULATE DEBRIS
3.1.1
Fission Products.
The fission-product results are reported
in terms of R-values, where an R-value is defined by the relation;
~ (1/az)s _
(ay/ag)e
Where: (a;/az), =
Yyerry/Yoen'2
(¥y)gerAy/(¥/2)eendg
_(¥4/Ya)
(Y/Y)t
{3.1)
.
fission-product activity ratios of two
isotopes measured in a debris sample.
The activity is corrected for the decay
AI AMER 15 es org te
between time of explosion and time of
analysis
(a;/a,),
=
fission-product activity ratios of the
the same two isotopes from a sample of
U235 irradiated using thermal neutrons;
Same procedures and equipment used as
for determining (a;/a2),
e =
counting efficiencies
Tables 3.1 and 3.2 list the fission-product data for the Castle
tests. These tables present the Mo%? R-values obtained from samples collected close-in to the point of detonation and from samples collected at
Hickam Field, Guam, and McClellan Air Force Base (California).
In most
instances, the values quoted are the weighted average of measurements
made in three laboratories.
Error limits shown are the standard devia-
tions. Neither time nor facilities permitted extensive investigation of
the characteristics of the debris as a function of distance from the
detonation site.
The long-range-debris (LRD) values quoted are based on
a limited number of samples, and in some instances, there was a consider-
able spread in the values obtained for individual isotopes. No LRD
values are given for Shot 3, since all LRD samples collected for this
event were badly admixed with older debris.
3.1.2
Rare Earths.
The rare-earth data listed in Tables 3-3 and
3.4 arethemost representative R-values available for the Castle shots.
The accuracy of the data is such that no interpretive value should
15
be
Pas. Vl Wnen 14 petetes.