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Title: Estimates of fallout from Nevada weapons testing in the western United States based on gummed-film monitoring data

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6149313

Estimates of /sup 137/Cs depositions from Nevada atmospheric nuclear weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site are presented for 25 sites in Nevada, Utah, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Colorado, and Wyoming. These estimates are based primarily on a reappraisal of total beta deposition measured with gummed-film directly after the tests. Maps of the estimated /sup 137/Cs deposition at the gummed-film and other sites in the study region are presented to indicate the approximate fallout pattern for each test. The data presented provide reasonable estimates of the relative fallout at a given site from test to test, as well as the relative fallout from site to site for a given test. Absolute deposition estimates, although less certain, are nevertheless in excellent agreement with estimates from other sources. The data are intended for use in documenting which Nevada Test Site shots produced the observed fallout in a given area, thus allowing more accurate population dose estimates to be made from the results of an ongoing program of retrospective soil analyses. The data also provide valuable benchmarks for verifying meteorological model predictions of nuclear debris transport and deposition from individual tests, as well as an additional independent source of information on the general pattern and intensity of Nevada Test Site fallout in the western US. 43 references, 5 figures, 9 tables.

Research Organization:
USDOE Environmental Measurements Lab., New York
OSTI ID:
6149313
Report Number(s):
EML-433; ON: DE85004136
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products. Original copy available until stock is exhausted
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English