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Radioactive Warfare
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significent percentaze of inhaled matcrial bein; retained in the lungs for
intervals extending to as long as 4 ycar. A veriablo but sigridioant fraction
of the fission products initially retained by the lungs following inhala-
tion will be absorbed through the lung tissues into tho blood strean end
then be deposited within tho skeleton. In gencral, the demage to the °'.
lungs will be greater than to the blood forming tissues within the bone
marrow. However, it 4s perfectly. feasible to.prepare radioactive smoke of
such a charector so thet the injury .to the bono marrow will predominate
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over pulmonary damage.
The oral ingestion of many of tho fission products
is followed by a rather triviel degree. of absorption from the digestive |
tract.
If an mseparated mixture of long-lived fission products is employed,
less than from 3% to 10% will be absorbed through the digestive tract.
Approximately half of the material so absorbed will becomo deposited. within
the skeleton. External irradiation arisin; from fission products spread
over 6 large aronp, presents another importent aspect of the problom of
radioactive warfare, Inasmuch as both bets end cenma rays are emitted fron
the fission products mixture, superficial as well as penetrating damage—~
may occur.
In the main, the gamma rays will bo the more ominous cf the
_ two redietions insofar as lethal injury to personnel is concerned. From
400 to 600 roentgens is believed to oonstitute en acute lethal dose of penetrating camna rays for ean adult human. Severe and slow healing lesions
rosntgens of beta irradiation of an energy range from 250,000 to 2,000,000 ©
volts. Due to the fact that beta rays are relatively easily absorbed, a
considerable diminution of that effoot will ariso from absorption in olothix;oe
shoes, et cetora.
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of the skin and subcutaneous tissues will oocur following 3,000 to 6,000
‘Tae contenination of soils presents another aspeat of the destruot-
ive potentialities of the fission products as a military agent. The accom
penying report on the behavior of fission products ond soils, rplucidates
this issue to a considorable degree. fRriefly, the situation is that most
of the long-lived fission products, because of their ohemiaal properties
become extrenely firmly fixed on to soil particles, Plants crowing in
such contaminated soils havo the potentiality of accumulatins to a very
high degree, a considerable fraction: of the fission produots that are fixod
_upon the soil particles.
Inasmuch as this accumulation by the plants
occurs chiefly in the roots which are relatively sensitive to radiation,
it can be readily appreciated that significant areas of pround may be
made essentially sterile insofer as thoir agricultural use is concerned.
In addition, there is a corollary problem which arises, namely, the assimulation of certain fission products, notably cesium and strontiun in the
leafy portious of planta. Conceivably, food crops growing in soils ocon-
taminated below the level required to kill plants could result in the
poisonirg of the plant products insofar as animal or human consumption,
is concerned.
The quentity of given fission produot mixture that is required
to produce demeging effeots, whether it be in humans or plants, dopends
upon the age and composition of the fission product mixturo employed.
Obviously, there is almost an wlimited series of numbers which could