CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSIONS AND. RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1
CONCLUSIONS
1. Contamination of shore facilities after detonation of a
thermonuclear weapon in a harbor would present severe decontamination
problems in areas considerably beyond the range of blast and thermal
damage,
2. Hosing and dry sweeping decontamination techniques are
relatively ineffective in reducing residual contamination levels on
structures exposed to wet or slurry forms of contamination.
3. Serubbing operations utilizing the proper combinations of
detergents and complexing agents are the best practical methods in
reducing contamination levels on most construction meterials;
especially on those having impermeable surfaces.
. While the use of some of the protective coatings employed
was of slight value, phenolic and alkyd formulations showed
sufficient merit to justify further experimentation in the laboratory.
5. The differences in initial contamination level of the panels
appear to be more a function of orientation of the panels than of
the characteristics of the panel surfaces themselves. Vertical
surfaces facing upwind were found to be equally or more highly
contaminated than pitched or horizontal surfaces,
This may
significantly increase dosage rates on the inside of structures.
6. The use of unpaved buffer zones around structures is
preferable to paved areas, particulariy if adequate mechanized dirt
moving machinery is available,
‘7. Residual contamination percentages on surfaces appear to
decrease with increasing initial contamination levels.
8, The submicron size and ionic nature of the contaminant
might be the reason for the tenaciousness of the contaminant
encountered.
.
9. Washdown countermeasures are effective in minimizing initial
contamination of panels of construction materials surfaces.
However,
the practicability of exterior water sprays on fixed structures with
surface irregularities cannot be ascertained at this time,
10, Beta detection instruments are not suitable for measuring
;
6
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