SESSION VI
SPEAR:
289
| caa support your point here by an incidents that was
rather shoching ta me atthe time.
The under-secretary of one of
the major departmerts of government, who shall be nameless, one
who had been more than once to the test site in Nevada, who had been
briefed many times on the effects of nuclear weapons in the latter
part of the fatties, aehed the administrator of Civil Defense to have
someone come down and explain to hum what wae involved ia the
fallout shelter propoesl, that is. what were the facts on shielding,
on the strength of gamma radiation, and soon, | got tagged with
the job, L waaa litthe surprised because | felt that at this point in
time he ehowid have had some underetanding of thie, At any rate, |
went down armed with the effects of ruciear weapone data, the teal
data. the altenuation facture tnvolved, and tor about twenty minites
held forth oa the Lasic facts,
When I (inished he shook hiv head and
eaid “Well, Um afraid | couldn't go for thie,
have a litle trouble
with claustroghobis and | think | would rather seek protection, even
if st be hos and uncomfortable, in someaf those yellow coveralis euch
46 See some of therm wearing out at the test site in Nevada! '
ht wae utterly shattering to me that I failed to get acroos the esven-
tial poist there, Thie ie a man who was very high up and very much
involved in the total decision-making process and subsequently wae
to go higher in the peching order.
FREMONT.SMITH:
have claustrophobia!
,
We should choose decision. makere who don't
,
SPEAR: tt was toa me # most shocking experience to realize that
at thet level in our guvernment there wae someone eho was sa come
pletely innocent of any pertinent knowledge of 4 Guestion like this,
UPTON:
f live in a town where people, by and large, understand
radiation pretty well, and we have a number of shelters in the plant
areas a6 well a8 in the community. From time to time there are
tests of these shelters; Boy Scouts, ae a rule, are seiected to «pend
& weekend in the shelter, and soon, Ican't name a single acquain-
tance of mine who hae a shelter in his basement although there are
in the town several home shelters that are very extensive. I've heard
about them: I've never seen one,
thick the prevailing attitude is one of a aense of hopeiessnens.
it's a feeling that the problem ie so tremendous that one truste that
the need for shelters will never ariec; that if it should arise the extent