Plutonium contamination twenty years after the nuclear weapons accident in Spain
An accident involving two US Air Force planes engaged in a refueling operation occurred at 0922 GMT on January 17, 1966 over the town of Palomares in southeastern Spain. Three of the bombs, one intact, were found on land, in or near Palomares while the fourth was removed from the Mediterranean Sea. The parachutes of two of the bombs did not deploy resulting in the detonation of their conventional explosives and release of fissile material upon impact. Partial burning of the fissile material formed an aerosol that contaminated approximately 226 hectares of uncultivated, farmed, and urban land. The objective of this study was to determine the magnitude of the risk from internal contamination of the area inhabitants immediately after the accident and during the emergency phase and to determine the short, medium and long-term risk of internal contamination for the inhabitants of Palomares and its environs and to those who consume planet products cultivated in that area.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA); Junta de Energia Nuclear, Madrid (Spain)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 6361984
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-870701-5; ON: DE87012531
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 8. international congress of radiation research, Edinburgh, UK, 19 Jul 1987; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Comparative Plutonium-239 Dose Assessment for Three Desert Sites: Maralinga, Australia; Palomares, Spain; and the Nevada Test Site, USA - Before and After Remedial Action
Air concentrations of /sup 239/Pu and /sup 240/Pu and potential radiation doses to persons living near Pu-contaminated areas in Palomares, Spain
Related Subjects
AMERICIUM 241
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
PLUTONIUM 239
PLUTONIUM 240
RADIATION ACCIDENTS
CHEMICAL EXPLOSIONS
CONTAMINATION
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
SPAIN
ACCIDENTS
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
AMERICIUM ISOTOPES
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
EUROPE
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
EXPLOSIONS
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
RADIOISOTOPES
WEAPONS
WESTERN EUROPE
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
510300* - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)