DNA 1240H-Z
19 August 1973
The CDC thermal radiation criteria deal with times to ineffectiveness from burns of not less then 24 hr.
The document states that data in-
dicate that complete ineffectiveness within 8 hr or less may not be achieved
by thermal burns, and notes that burns around the eyes or hands may cause
local disability that may or may not be incapacitating within a day or 60.
EM-1 points out that any burn around the eyes that causes occluded vision
because of resultant swelling of eyelids will be incapacitating, and burns
of the hands will also cause ineffectiveness.
Accurate vision and use of
their hands are task requirements of many topside personnel, such as flight
deck personnel on a carrier.
Cheek or hand burns resulting from exposure
to thermal radiation from a surface burst could produce temporary ineffectiveness for certain tasks within a very short time.
The CDC thermal emergency risk criteria (second degree burn) for
warned, exposed personnel in summer uniform is 12 cal/em* from a 1 MT burst.
Analysis of nuclear test data in the Pacific indicates that this level of
exposure would occur at about 10,000 to 11,000 yd from surface zero, with
the moderate risk level of 6.8 cal/em at about 14,000 yd.
18.7.3
Nuclear Radiation
Sources of nuclear radiation resulting from water bursts differ in
several respects from those of air or land-surface bursts.
Furthermore,
the nuclear radiation produced by water-surface bursts differs from that
produced by underwater bursts due to phenomenological differences.
Water-Surface Bursts
Water-surface bursts produce primary neutron and gamma radiations
{initial radiation) that are emitted by the fission products in the fireball and above surface formations.
These radiations are similar to those
emitted by the corresponding formations of a land-surface burst.
It is
18-30
mM