Summary statement of findings related to the distribution, characteristics, and biological availability of fallout debris originating from testing programs at the Nevada Test Site

Technical Report · Wed Sep 14 04:00:00 EDT 1960

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6986059· OSTI ID:6986059

Larson, K H; Neel, J W

Summary statements are given of significant findings related to the distribution, characteristics, and biological availability of fall-out debris originating from testing programs at the Nevada Test Site during the past decade. The delineation of fall-out patterns has been accomplished by the use of aerial and ground monitoring surveys. Only about 25% of the total amount of fission products produced by tower-supported detonations were deposited within distances corresponding to fall-out time of H + 12 hr; a much smaller quantity was deposited by balloon-supported detonations. Most of the fall-out debris that was redistributed by various environmental factors after original deposition consisted of particles < 44 ..mu.. in diameter; the particles in this size range also represented the predominant contamination on plant foliage. /sup 90/Si levels in surface soil ranged from 31.9 to 142 mc/sq mile in virgin areas near known fall-out pattern midlines and from 7.5 to 22.7 mc/sq mile in agricultural areas that in some cases did not coincide with fall-out pattern midlines. The accumulation of radioiodine by native animals was observed to be a function of distance from GZ. /sup 140/Ba, /sup 91/Y, /sup 89/Sr and /sup 90/Sr were major bone contaminants. Post-series sampling of native animals indicated that the accumulation by animals correlated poorly with the strontium unit levels in soils. The strontium unit levels increased in milk immediately following contamination of the farm with fall-out dehbris and then decreased with time as well as the amount of strontium associated with the cattle's diet. Observations during the past decade indicate that less than 10% of the total strontium produced from nuclear detonations at NTS has been deposited within 200 miles from the point of detonation.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Los Angeles (USA). School of Medicine
• OSTI ID: 6986059
• Report Number(s): UCLA-438
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500300 -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring &amp; Transport-- (-1989)
510302* -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring &amp; Transport-- Terrestrial Ecosystems &amp; Food Chains-- (-1987)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
560172 -- Radiation Effects-- Nuclide Kinetics &amp; Toxicology-- Animals-- (-1987)
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AERIAL MONITORING
AIRSHIPS
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ANIMALS
ATMOSPHERIC EXPLOSIONS
BALLOONS
BARIUM 140
BARIUM ISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA DETECTION
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BODY
BODY FLUIDS
CATTLE
CHARGED PARTICLE DETECTION
CONTAMINATION
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DECAY
DETECTION
DIET
DISTRIBUTION
DOMESTIC ANIMALS
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
EXPLOSIONS
FALLOUT
FALLOUT DEPOSITS
FISSION PRODUCTS
FOOD
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
MAMMALS
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
MECHANICAL STRUCTURES
MILK
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
MONITORING
NEVADA TEST SITE
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORGANS
PARTICLE SIZE
PLANTS
RADIATION DETECTION
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVITY
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIONUCLIDE KINETICS
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
RUMINANTS
RUTHENIUM 103
RUTHENIUM 106
RUTHENIUM ISOTOPES
SIZE
SKELETON
SOILS
SOLUBILITY
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
STRONTIUM 89
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
TIME DEPENDENCE
VERTEBRATES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
YTTRIUM 91
YTTRIUM ISOTOPES