The Laboratory’s efforts in the early 1960s were directed
toward understanding injury due to ionizing radiation.
The
;
Radiation Laboratory began the use of radioisotopes regularly in
the treatment of disease in 1936.
Of particular interest was the
study of any delayed effects of radiation and the incidence of
cancer.
The genetic and subcellular effects of ionizing radiation were also studied.
The Berkeley Health Physics Group conducted regular procedures for collecting and analyzing radiation samples of the Laboratory accelerators, using various neutron detectors and monitors.
An extensive series of measurements were made at the NTS
during Project Bronco to provide better estimates of the radia-
tion exposure due to neutrons at longer distances from the
source.
Beginning
in 1963,
the
Livermore Biomedical
gated the effects of radiation on humans.
Program
investi-
A major effort was the
development of theoretical models to describe the behavior of
chemical elements in biological systems and the development of
computer systems to process and analyze such data.
In the late
1960s, the Biomedical Program began the study of radiation on DNA
molecules.
Plowshare Program
The Plowshare Program was conceived and initiated at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory during 1956 and 1957.
The Laboratory
explored the
use of nuclear explosions for earth-moving excava-
tions and other engineering projects.
At the time the program
was initiated, possible industrial applications centered around
excavation since a number of craters had been made previously-one up to 1,000 feet in diameter in the atoll reefs of the
Pacific test site.
Scientists and engineers envisioned nuclear
excavation as a possible method for constructing harbors and canals, including a harbor site in Alaska and canals across the Panamanian isthmus.
Scientists found that explosions conducted
underground generated large permeable zones which provided pos-
sible applications for waste disposal,
aquifer recharging,
ermal energy.
gas and oil
oil and gas storage,
stimulus,
A few nuclear tests were conducted
and recovery of geoth-
in basalt
and desert
alluvium.
In July 1962, the Plowshare program carried out a 100
kiloton (kt) event in alluvium at the NTS.
Three nuclear cratering experiments were conducted at NTS
in this period:
Cabriolet
in hard rock, Schooner, and Buggy, the first detonation of a row
of nuclear charges to excavate a ditch.
The greatest problems
with cratering were the stability of the resulting slopes and
radioactive
fallout.
In the
1962
shots,
experimenters
were able
to reduce the amount of fallout released to the atmosphere from
the earlier (Cabriolet) to later (Danny Boy) shots. As a basic