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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Nuclear health and safety: Radiation exposures for some cloud-sampling personnel need to be reexamined

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:7254306
Between 1945 and 1962, nearly 200,000 Americans participated in the atmospheric nuclear weapons testing program, with more than half receiving some level of radiation exposure. In 1985, a public interest group reported that a radiation monitoring device installed inside aircraft that had penetrated the nuclear clouds read more than twice the level of radiation recorded on film badges worn by the aircraft crews suggesting that a reexamination of radiation exposure should be made. Ground personnel working on the testing program did not consistently wear protective breathing devices when working around radioactive materials.
Research Organization:
General Accounting Office, Washington, DC (USA). Resources, Community and Economic Development Div.
OSTI ID:
7254306
Report Number(s):
GAO/RCED-87-134
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English