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OPERATION REDWING - PROJECT 2.2, GAMMA EXPOSURE RATE VERSUS TIME (DELETED)

BROWN, P; CARP, G; MARKOW, B; ET AL

REDWING PROJECT; GAMMA DETECTION; DECAY; ZUNI EVENT; NAVAJO EVENT; FLATHEAD EVENT; TEWA EVENT; RADIATION MONITORING

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

1960 Jan 18

Sanitized

0054

NV0015486

WT1311EX

DEFENSE ATOMIC SUPPORT AGENCY, DOD

1994 Aug 26

2008 Mar 31

THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF PROJECT 2.2 WAS TO MEASURE INITIAL- AND RESID UAL-GAMMA-EXPOSURE RATES AS A FUNCTION OF TIME AT VARIOUS DISTANCES FR OM HIGH-YIELD-THERMONUCLEAR DETONATIONS. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES WERE TO MEASURE THE RESIDUAL GAMMA-EXPOSURE RATE AT THE LIP OF THE CRATER FROM A HIGH-YIELD, LAND-SURFACE SHOT; AND TO FIELD TEST A PROTOTYPE THERMAL DETECTOR TO BE USED IN A RADIOLGICAL-DEFENSE-WARNING SYSTEM. THE RESID UAL-GAMMA RADIATION WAS DETECTED BY AN UNSATURATED-ION CHAMBER, WHOSE OUTPUT DETERMINDE THE FREQUENCY OF PULSES THAT WERE RECORDED ON ELECTR O-SENSITIVE PAPER. MOST OF THE INITIAL-GAMMA-RADIATION STATIONS CONSIS TED OF SCINTILLATION DETECTORS WHOSE OUTPUT DETERMINED THE FREQUENCY O F PULSES THAT WERE RECORDED ON MAGNETIC TAPE. SOME INITIAL-GAMMA INSTR UMENTS WERE SIMILAR TO THOSE USED DURING OPERATION CASTLE. THE EXPOSUR E RATE NEAR THE CRATER WAS MEASURED WITH A DETECTOR-TELEMETER UNIT DRO PPED FROM A HELICOPTER. RESIDUAL-GAMMA-EXPOSURE RATE VERSUS TIME WAS O BTAINED AFTER SHOTS ZUNI, FLATHEAD, NAVAJO, AND TEWA. THE OBSERVED AVE RAGE-DECAY EXPONENTS FOR THESE EVENTS WERE 1.1 FOR ZUNI AND TEWA, 1.2 FOR FLANHEAD, AND 1.3 FOR NAVAJO. IN SOME CASES, THE EFFECT OF RAINFAL L IN LEACHING THE ACTIVITY DECREASED THE EXPOSURE RATE BY A FACTOR OF TWO. RECORDS FROM SHOT FLATHEAD AT 7,730 FEET AND FROM SHOT NAVANO AT 13,870 FEET INDICATED THAT AT THESE LOCATIONS ABOUT 2/3 OF THE TOTAL I NITIAL-GAMMA EXPOSURE WAS DELIVERED AFTER THE ARRIVAL OF THE SHOCK FRO NT. THE CRATER-LIP MEASUREMENTS INDICATED THAT THE METHOD WAS A FEASIB LE ONE; HOWEVER, NO USABLE DATA WAS OBTAINED. THE THERMAL-RADIATION DE TECTOR RESPONDED SATISFACTORITY TO A DETONATION AT A DISTANCE OF 20 MI LES. THIS DOCUMENT IS A DELETED VERSION.