Document Details

DECONTAMINATION AND PROTECTION (U), OPERATION REDWING - PROJECT 2.4

MALONEY, J C; SCHMOKE, M A

REDWING PROJECT; DECONTAMINATION; FALLOUT; CHEROKEE EVENT; ZUNI EVENT; FLATHEAD EVENT; NAVAJO EVENT; TEWA EVENT

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 Apr 30

Declassified

0026

NV0015193

WT1312

UNITED STATES ARMY - DEPARTMENT OF

1994 Aug 26

2003 Sep 18

THE OBJECTIVE OF PROJECT 2.4 WERE TO INVESTIGATE THE CONTAMINATION CHA RACTERISTICS OF CONSTRUCTION MATERILAS EXPOSED AT VARIOUS ANGLES AND O RIENTATIONS TO CONTAMINATION RESULTING FROM HIGH-YIELD-NUCLEAR DETONAT IONS AND TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF VARIOUS DECONTAMINATION T ECHNIQUES, IN ORDER TO OBTAIN DATA ON THE RADIOLOGICAL RECOVERY OF MIL ITARY INSTALLATIONS.PANELS OF VARIOUS CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS WERE MOUN TED ON BOARD THE YAG-39 AND YAG-40, WHICH WERE OPERATED THROUGH REGION S OF FALLOUT AFTER SHOTS CHEROKEE, ZUNI, FLATHEAD, NAVAJO, AND TEWA. W ITH THE EXCEPTION OF SHOT TEWA, THE FALLOUT CONTAMINATION DEPOSITED ON THE YAGS FROM ALL THESE EVENTS WAS INSIGNIFICANT WITH RESPECT TO FULFI LLING THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT. THE CONTAMINATED SHOT TEWA PANEL S WERE, UNFORTUNATELY, EXPOSED TO HEAVY RAINFALL PRIOR TO RECEIPT FOR STUDY. APPARENTLY, THE RAINS EFFECTIVELY DECONTAMINATED THE PANELS. TH E MOST HEAVILY CONTAMINATED SURFACE, AN ASPHALT AND GRAVEL BUILT-UP RO OFING PANEL, READ APPROXIMATELY 500 MR/HR WHEN RECIEVED FROM SHOT ZUNI AT H + 60 HOURS. OTHER PANELS WERE GENERALLY MUCH LESS CONTAMINATED. S OME GAVE READINGS BARELY ABOVE ISLAND BACKGROUND. THE LIMITED DATA AVA ILABLE INDICATED THAT SMALL-PARTICULATE CONTAMINATION, SIMILAR TO OPER ATION JANGLE FALLOUT, RESULTED FROM THE LAND SHOTS; AND LIQUID CONTAMI NATION, SIMILAR TO FALLOUT FROM SHOTS ROMEO AND UNION OF OPERATION CAS TLE, WAS PRODUCED FROM THE DEEP-WATER BARGE SHOT. THE PARTICULATE-TYPE CONTAMINANT FROM SHOT ZUNI CONTAMINATED HORIZONTAL SURFACES MUCH MORE HEAVILY THAN VERTICAL SURFACES. THIS IS SIMILAR TO OBSERVATIONS AT OPE RATION JANGLE. CONVERSELY, THE LIQUID CONTAMINATION FROM SHOT FLATHEAD CONTAMINATED VERTICAL SURFACES MUCH MORE HEAVILY THAN HORIZONTAL SURFA CES, AS WAS PREVIOUSLY NOTED AND REPORTED DURING OPERATION CASTLE. CON TAMINATION LEVELS WERE GENERALLY REDUCED BY FACTORS OF TWO-TO-FOUR BY DETERGENT SCRUBBING OF THE MOST HEAVILY CONTAMINATED PANELS. DEPTH OF PENETRATION STUDIES IN PAINTED WOOD REVEALED THAT THE CONTAMINATION WA S CONTAINED IN THE PAINT LAYERS (120 TO 300 MICRONS THICK). HOWEVER, I N ALL UNPAINTED WOOD SAMPLES, THE CONTAMINANT, AFTER WETTING, PENETRAT ED TO DEPTHS OF 1,000 TO 2,000 MICRONS, OR MORE.