A System for the Measurement of Deposition and Resuspension of Radioactive Particulate Released from Plowshare Cratering Events

Potential benefits to man from the use of nuclear explosives for excavation are considerable. Proposed applications actively being studied under the Atomic Energy Commission's Plowshare Program include construction of canals, harbors, and dams. Potential economic advantages of nuclear explosives over conventional chemical explosives and excavation machinery are so great as to permit consideration of projects otherwise entirely unfeasible. However, the use of nuclear explosives in excavation projects implies the potential release of radioactivity into the biosphere. The biological implications of such releases must be evaluated before any nuclear excavation project can be seriously considered. The Bio-Medical Division of the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory of Livermore is pursuing investigations intended to systematically analyze the effects on the biosphere of the release of radionuclides from experimental Plowshare cratering events. Data from these studies will be used to evaluate and refine existing predictive methods.