RADIOACTIVE FALLOUT PARTICULARLY FROM THE RUSSIAN OCTOBER SERIES

Journal Article · Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1959 · Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.45.7.959· OSTI ID:4261960

Libby, W F

The intensive series of bomb tests fired by the USSR during October (1958) affords a unique opportunity to test whether stratospheric radioactive fall-out from injections made at polar latitudes differs appreciably in distribution or fall-out raies from that due to equatorial explosions, such as the United States and the United Kingdom have fired. The Russian October series is esifmated, on the basis of assumptions previously described, to have added aboui 12.5 to 15 megatons equivalent of fission products to the stratosphere. The previous inventory on the same basis was about 18 megatons equivalent if polar debris falls out in aboui l year instead of 5. The Russian addition amounted io a sudden increase of about I50 per ceni in the Northern Hemisphere, if one takes the previous stratospheric burden to have been uniformly distributed. The Department of Defense has teniatively concluded on the basis of data which it has collected, together with the Atomic Energy Commission's stratospheric balloon data, that the residence time for Polar shots is about one year or less and that equatorfal debris has a residence iime of about three years. The hydrogen bombs fired over Johnson Island made tritium water in large quantities in the stratosphere and it is to be expected if the simple uniform model for equatorial injections is correct, that the rains all over the world will show a stratospheric iritium drip as well as the stratospheric strontium-90cesium-l37 fission produci drips which have been occurring for years. But this stratospheric tritium drip probably will have had its zero time in Augusi of 1958 since earlier tropospheric firings probably added relatively less. This iritium should be useful in studying the normal hydrological cycles of the atmosphere and hydrosphere and the circulation patterns of the oceans. The Russian October shots having been fired in cold dry Polar afr may have left more in the stratosphere than other tropospheric explosions and this coupled with the shorter residence time of the Martell iheory should add appreciably to the Johnson Island tritium water fall-out in the Northern Hemisphere. (C.H.)

• Research Organization: Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C.; Atomic Energy Commission, Washington, D.C.
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• NSA Number: NSA-13-018021
• OSTI ID: 4261960
• Journal Information: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S., Journal Name: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S. Vol. Vol: 45
• Country of Publication: Country unknown/Code not available
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ATMOSPHERE
BALLOONS
CESIUM 137
DISTRIBUTION
FALLOUT
FISSION PRODUCTS
GEOPHYSICS
HEALTH AND SAFETY
HYDROLOGY
MOTION
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
RADIOACTIVITY
RAIN
SAMPLING
SEA
STRATOSPHERE
STRONTIUM 90
TRITIUM
WATER