Fallout: Its Characteristics and Management

This report is a comprehensive single-source summary of the salient features of fallout. It supplements the fallout lectures of the Medical Effects of Nuclear Weapons course given by AFRRI. The following topics are included Basic physical processes that give rise to formation of fallout identification of primary factors governing magnitude of the fallout problem design and deployment of weapons and their effect on fallout formation sources of fallout weapon yield and atmospheric structure in region of detonation, including effects of local meteorological conditions on early fallout theoretical and actual fallout patterns, with emphasis on the latter and on experience gained from atmospheric testing expected type of fallout deposition identification of types of radiation associated with fallout, and discussion of their radiological properties protection against each type of radiation external hazards of fallout major concerns of ingesting fallout discussion of each major isotope of concern with particular attention to current ICRP International Commission on Radiation Protection dose estimates for ingestion brief description of management of fallout, including a detection of fallout and evaluation of hazards based or radiological dose considerations, fallout shelters, personnel decontamination, and food sources, and b postattack recovery.