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Public health impact of fallout from British nuclear weapons tests in Australia, 1952-1957

Abstract

During the period 1952-1957, Britain conducted 12 full-scale nuclear weapons tests in Australia in five series, viz. Hurricane(1952), Totem(1953), Mosaic(1956), Buffalo(1956) and Antler(1957). Radioactive fallout from the tests reached many parts of Australia. This report reviews the pathways by which the radionuclides in the fallout could have irradiated the population. The methodology is presented for estimating the radiation doses and values are derived from the available data. The possible effect that the radiation exposure had on public health is assessed. Estimation of the radiation doses is approached in two parts: (a) the contributions from the Mosaic, Buffalo and Antler series which were monitored, and (b) the contributions from the Hurricane and Totem series for which there are few fallout data. In part (a), the activities of the radionuclides making up the measured fallout are established by calculation. Standard models are then used to derive the radiation doses for the population centres - from external radiation, from ingestion of radionuclides in food and from inhalation of radionuclides in air. A simple treatment is adopted to estimate radiation doses from drinking contaminated water. For Part (b), the data assembled in (a) provide the basis for developing statistical models for predicting radiation doses  More>>
Publication Date:
May 01, 1992
Product Type:
Technical Report
Report Number:
ARL-TR-105
Reference Number:
SCA: 560101; PA: AIX-25:002767; EDB-94:015328; ERA-19:005366; NTS-94:014061; SN: 93001120302
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: May 1992
Subject:
61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY; FALLOUT DEPOSITS; PUBLIC HEALTH; STATISTICAL MODELS; NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS; AUSTRALIA; ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE PATHWAY; HUMAN POPULATIONS; PARTICLE RESUSPENSION; RADIATION DOSES; RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION; STATISTICAL DATA; 560101; DOSIMETRY AND MONITORING
OSTI ID:
10109577
Research Organizations:
Australian Radiation Lab., Melbourne, VIC (Australia)
Country of Origin:
Australia
Language:
English
Other Identifying Numbers:
Other: ON: DE94608997; TRN: AU9313508002767
Availability:
OSTI; NTIS (US Sales Only); INIS
Submitting Site:
INIS
Size:
135 p.
Announcement Date:
Jun 30, 2005

Citation Formats

Wise, K N, and Moroney, J R. Public health impact of fallout from British nuclear weapons tests in Australia, 1952-1957. Australia: N. p., 1992. Web.
Wise, K N, & Moroney, J R. Public health impact of fallout from British nuclear weapons tests in Australia, 1952-1957. Australia.
Wise, K N, and Moroney, J R. 1992. "Public health impact of fallout from British nuclear weapons tests in Australia, 1952-1957." Australia.
@misc{etde_10109577,
title = {Public health impact of fallout from British nuclear weapons tests in Australia, 1952-1957}
author = {Wise, K N, and Moroney, J R}
abstractNote = {During the period 1952-1957, Britain conducted 12 full-scale nuclear weapons tests in Australia in five series, viz. Hurricane(1952), Totem(1953), Mosaic(1956), Buffalo(1956) and Antler(1957). Radioactive fallout from the tests reached many parts of Australia. This report reviews the pathways by which the radionuclides in the fallout could have irradiated the population. The methodology is presented for estimating the radiation doses and values are derived from the available data. The possible effect that the radiation exposure had on public health is assessed. Estimation of the radiation doses is approached in two parts: (a) the contributions from the Mosaic, Buffalo and Antler series which were monitored, and (b) the contributions from the Hurricane and Totem series for which there are few fallout data. In part (a), the activities of the radionuclides making up the measured fallout are established by calculation. Standard models are then used to derive the radiation doses for the population centres - from external radiation, from ingestion of radionuclides in food and from inhalation of radionuclides in air. A simple treatment is adopted to estimate radiation doses from drinking contaminated water. For Part (b), the data assembled in (a) provide the basis for developing statistical models for predicting radiation doses from weapon yields and trajectories of the radioactive clouds. The models are then applied to give the radiation doses to population centres following the tests in Hurricane and Totem, using their yields and trajectories. 71 refs., 20 tabs., 8 figs.}
place = {Australia}
year = {1992}
month = {May}
}