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OPERATION PLUMBBOB, NEVADA TEST SITE, MAY - OCTOBER 1957, TEST GROUP 57, PROGRAM 73, MONITORING AND DECONTAMINATION TECHNIQUES FOR PLUTONIUM FALLOUT ON LARGE-AREA SURFACES

DICK, J L; BAKER, T P

PLUMBBOB OPERATION; DECONTAMINATION; RADIATION MONITORING; PROCEDURES; PLUTONIUM

Location - DOE/NNSA NUCLEAR TESTING ARCHIVE Address - P.O. Box 98521 City - Las Vegas State - NV Zip - 89193-8521 Phone - (702)794-5106 Fax - (702)862-4240 Email - NTA@NV.DOE.GOV

REPORT

1957 May 31

Unknown

0061

NV0006199

WT1512

AIR FORCE SPECIAL WEAPONS CENTER

1994 Aug 26

2003 Sep 18

PLUTONIUM CONTAMINATION IS POSSIBLE WHEN CERTAIN WEAPONS ARE SUBJECTED TO NONNUCLEAR DESTRUCTION. PROCEDURES FOR MONITORING, CONTROL, AND D ECONTAMINATION OF PLUTONIUM FROM LAND AND HARD-SURFACE AREAS ARE DESCR IBED. THE MOST EFFECTIVE MEANS OF LAND-SURFACE DECONTAMINATION ARE LI STED IN ORDER OF DECREASING EFFICIENCY AS FOLLOWS: PLOWING; OILING AN D SCRAPING; LEACHING WITH 0.3 INCH OF WATER AND SCRAPING; LEACHING WIT H 0.3 INCH OF WATER; AND LEACHING WITH 0.3 INCH OF WATER-ALCONOX SOLUT ION. EFFICIENCIES WERE GENERALLY ABOVE 86 PERCENT. THE MOST EFFECTIV E MEANS OF HARD-SURFACE DECONTAMINATION ARE LISTED IN DECREASING ORDER OF EFFICIENCY AS FOLLOWS: SAND-BLASTING; WATER-DETERGENT SCRUBBING; W ATER-DETERGENT HOSING; WATER HOSING; WATER SCRUBBING; STEAM CLEANING; AND VACUUMING. EFFICIENCIES WERE ALL ABOVE 66 PERCENT, WITH THE MAJOR ITY ABOVE 95 PERCENT. HARD-SURFACE AREAS INCLUDED CONCRETE, ASPHALT, PLATE STEEL, ALUMINUM, GALVANIZED ROOFING, TARPAPER ROOFING, PAINTED W OOD, UNPAINTED WOOD, GLASS, BRICK, STUCCO, WOOD SHINGLES, AND ASBESTOS SHINGLES. FLATS OF GRASS WERE ALSO EXPOSED. ALL VEHICLES AND TEST E QUIPMENT USED IN THE CONTAMINATED AREA WERE READILY DECONTAMINATED. S AMPLE CALCULATIONS OF APPROXIMATE RADIOLOGICAL HAZARDS TO MAN WERE MAD E FOR THE SHOT CONFIGURATION AND METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PECULIAR TO THE TEST GROUP 57 EXPERIMENT. FIRST, PROVISIONAL ESTIMATES OF THE AC UTE EXPOSURE (FROM CLOUD PASSAGE) 675 FEET FROM GROUND ZERO WERE THAT AN INITIAL LUNG BURDEN ABOUT THREE TIMES THE MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE LEVEL WOULD HAVE RESULTED, BUT THAT INTEGRATED LUNG DOSE WOULD APPROACH CON TINUOUS IRRADIATION AT THE MAXIMUM LEVEL AFTER ABOUT 105 DAYS AND THER EAFTER WOULD BE LOWER. SECOND, SIMILAR ROUGH ESTIMATES WERE MADE FOR EXPOSURES OF PERSONNEL ENTERING THE CONTAMINATED AREA AFTER THE SHOT. WITH ENTRANCE DELAYED 3 OR MORE HOURS AFTER DETONATION AND THE ASSURA NCE OF NO RESUSPENSION FORCES BEYOND REASONABLE WINDS, A HUMAN COULD R EMAIN FOR AN UNLIMITED TIME IN AREAS CONTAMINATED AS HEAVILY AS 5000 M ICROGRAM/SQ METER. SINCE THIS REPRESENTS A SPECIAL SET OF CIRCUMSTANC ES, DECONTAMINATION CERTAINLY TO LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO 1000 MICROGRAM/ SQ METER IS RECOMMENDED FOR ANY REAL ACCIDENT AREA. FOR COMPLETE REHA BILITATION, MUCH MORE COMPLETE DECONTAMINATION WOULD BE NEEDED.