Ta addition to! the.above |close-in monitoring of.‘fallow
aoe
‘gatety:reasons),ecountry-widemonitoringprogrenwas: also:
we through, ‘thesscoordinatingTactivities ‘‘ofthe: Health:'and: Safety:D
NYOO;"and?ithe:cooperation’ of.;‘AEC2laboratories:and=contracto
rs:,£
t
. study willbe reported later, [ou
Weather Bureau.’ Resultsof. this
of the observations indicated hazardous levels of radioactivity
in the country.
Analysis of soils samples. Analysis of soil samples co
from the fall-out from the surface and underground bursts at t
Test Site has provided useful data for the evaluation of the o erall
health hazards of atomic explosions.
Deposition of radioactiv
on the land and absorption by plants is the beginning of a maj
for uptake by man of fission products and induced radioactive
Additional samples of the dirt and fused glass of sodi
and calcium silicates around the surface crater have also bee
)» potassium,
collected. -
This material has been sent to the AKC project at the U. S. De artment
of Agriculture at Beltsville, Maryland, for chemical and parti le size
in various
analysis and for studying its rate of uptake by plants growi
soils. Minute particles of the fused soil constitute an apprefiable portion of the radioactive dust cloud and it is desirable to know its solubility and rate of solubilization on various soils, especially eastern
acid ones.
Previous test of the fall-out on the soil from ar
‘Alamogordo test crater in New Mexico had indicated that the r
‘Was taken up by the plants very slowly over a period of sever
soils are predominantly acid.
It is known that glass silicat
times more soluble in slightly acid solutions. Therefore, itfis desirable
to obtain more information on the rate at which radioactive f
be absorbed by plants from dust from an underground explosion
Study of long-range effects. The study of long-range
may result from the detonation of a large number of atomic bo
several years ago.
During the past few months, the question
subjected to careful scrutiny in the light of new information gleaned from
recent bomb tests, and a revised report was prepared.
In Nov mber, this
report and the various questions of climatology, fall-out, an biological
‘ effects of bomb debris were carefully considered by an ad hoc committee
of appropriate specialiste:/ assembled by the Division of Bio ogy and
Medicine. This committee agreed in essence with the conclusi ns of the
esults of
report and went on to consider short-range effects as well.
1/ L. S. Taylor, Chairman (USNSS physicist), N. M. Smith, Jy} (ORNL,
author of reports), Edward Teller (LASL theoretical physicistf}, Joseph
Kaplan (UCLA geophysicist}, Leo Marinelli (ANL radiologist ari health physBicist), Col. Benjamin Holzman (USAF meteorologist), Sterlingl
(USDA soil expert), William Urry and Donald Rock (AFOAT-1)},
Hendricks
Ghields Warren
(Director, B&M). This group was assisted by Dr. Sverre Pettdrssen of Air
Weather Service and staff members of Divisions of Biclogy and Medicine,
Militery Application,
and Reactor Development.
—_
32
DOE AHCHIVES