service personnel on the island of Rongerik, as a result of the March
1, 1954 fallout.
Also, four service men in charge of handling "hot"
filters from monitoring aircraft at the Pacific Testing Site in I948
received severe beta burns on the hands.
One additional case was an
Air Force officer in charge of transportation of radioactive samples
from the Pacific Proving Ground to the United States in 1951.
developed on his forehead and right eyebrow region.
A lesion
The damaged area
showed normal repair processes but the previouslyblack hair of the
eyebrow was replaced by white hair upon regrowth. .
There have been no known cases of human beta burns at oy around
the Nevada Test Site.
Evaluation Serious skin damage can result if highly radioactive fallout remains in direct contact with the skin.
(Simple measures such as wash-
ing can be very effective in reducing this hazard - the sooner the
better).
Skin damage has not been observed except in those regions
where the amount of fallout was high, i.e., possibly over 75 roentgens
whole body dose from the gamma radiation.
Thus, the potential hazard
of skin burns may be essentially eliminated by meeting the criteria of
an acceptable whole body exposure. Of course, by evacuation from a
highly contaminated area it is possible to reduce drastically whole
body exposure, yet a relatively high skin dose could accumulate if the
fallout materials were not removed early.
13.
on: