. BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE UNCLASSIFIED: CIVIL EFFECTS ACTIVITIES Civil Effects Exercise 58-1 _ Acivil effects exercise was conducted at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) during May under the technical leadership of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to delermine shielding character- istics of typical structures remaining at NTS and the value of simple modifications and other methods of improving the shielding. The objective of this exercise was to develop data useful in the preparation of standards for fallout protection and to find inexpensive means of im~ proving or improvizing shelters. Another Important phase of the exercise was the collection of data on which to base specifications for a vehicle equipped with radiation sources and instruments for evaluating the shelter characteristics of homes, Civil Effects Exercise 58-2 A brief but intense temperature rise at the time of nuclear detonation was ‘noted in certain large shelters at NTS, particularly during Operation TEAPOT experiments in 1955. A civil effects exercise was scheduled for a 2-week period during August at NTS to determine the attenuation of light by the configuration of these shelters in an effort to determine the physical basis for the temperature rise. Data on temperature rises in shelters is essential to the developmentof acceptable criteria for protective construction. tyke y Civil Effects Exercise 58-3 During June personnel of the Atomic Energy Project of the University of California at Los Angeles initiated a resurvey of the radiation levels in and around the Nevada Test Site. A detailed survey of the Jackass Flats area, which was to be completed prior to the commencement of reactor testing activities in that area, was to include sampling of soil, plants, and animals as well as monitoring of radiation levels. This information may be useful to projected ecological studies. Planning for Future Civil Effects Tests In order to lay a firm foundation for participation in future test operations, task units were established to review existing information on various subjects and to determine the types of field experiments that would furnish the most urgently needed data and the preliminary laboratory work that would complement these experiments. These groups, each composed of six or more specialists, are conducting studies of radiobiology, fallout, ecology, genetics, blast biology, thermal biology and effects, physical damage to structures, countermeasures and decontamination, and radiation dosimetry and other instrumentation. . A group of 15 ecologists met May 27—29 at the Nevada Test Site to consider research needs and opportunities in this area. This survey of NTS was only a part of the group’s total program; its recommendations for ecological research were expected to cover all aspects af interest to the AEC. BACKGROUND RADIATION SURVEY OF ATOMIC ENERGY INSTALLATIONS Arrangements were made with the U. S. Geological Survey for airborne background ra- diation surveys of sizable portions of the United States, including all major AEC production sites, licensee reactor sites, and the Nevada Test Site. The data obtained by the Geological Survey and raps prepared from these data should provide a basis for appraisal af changes in levels of raciation in the environment brought about by the testing program, reactor operation, AEC plants, and radiation accidents. UNCLASSIFIED oot 8 ese aif