ATMOSPHERIC RADIOACTIVITY AT WASHINGTON, D.C. 1950-1961

• Main Author: Lockhart,L. B. , Jr
• Other Authors: NAVAL RESEARCH LAB WASHINGTON D C
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1962
• Subjects: *FALLOUT; *RADON; *THORIUM; DIURNAL VARIATIONS; PERIODIC VARIATIONS; RADIOACTIVITY; Pacific; Novaya Zemlya
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0275028; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0275028

Seasonal variations in the short-lived radon and thoron decay products in the air have been observed. The short-term variations of these products are sufficiently great to make impractical the direct determination of gross fission products in the associated air masses without removal of the short-lived natural product through decay, unless the fission product concentration is extremely high. The principal sources of fission products in the Washington, D. C. area have been nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site (U.S.) and at the Soviet test sites (Novaya Zemlya and Semipalatinsk, for example) with much smaller contributions from those at the Pacific Proving Grounds (U.S.). No radioactive debris from any of the Australia or Christmas Island tests (U.K.) have been identified in the Washington collections; only traces of activity were detected from any of the nuclear tests in the Sahara (France). (Author)