-~ 31 - The Spanish Incident I have been asked to speak about the incident in Spain where plu ium was released from two nuclear bombs and contaminated the immediati area. In this instance I can only act as a reporter but here in brie are the data, On January 17, 1966, a B-52 U. S. Air Force aircraft with nuclea bombs aboard crashed in Spain following an accident during a refuelin mission, One bomb was soon found in the soft soil of a river bed and one was found in the Mediterranean after an extensive search. Two ot bombs were shattered by their conventional high explosives upon impac land and in doing so scattered their contents over the local area. I in fact, an exact performance expected in case of an accident with nu bombs, i.e., they are designed so that in the event of an accident on their conventional high explosive will detonate. Of course, the radi active contents of plutonium and uranium were physically scattered, 1 any other debris, but there was no nuclear reaction, The obvious question remains, what was the health hazard from th plutonium and uranium that was scattered in the environment? Plutonium constitutes the greater potential hazard of the two sc that only this isotope will be considered. When plutonium reaches tt air it quickly oxidizes forming insoluble plutonium oxide, or if it ¢ solves in water, it forms an insoluble hydroxide. Thus, any DOEA E A. taken into the body by inhalation or ingestion will not be absorbed t any appreciable extent. This is fortunate since plutonium has a lon;