Fallout Appears to Be Below the
Immediate Danger Level to Health
Editor’s Note: Three radio
active substances in particular
need careful watching as fall
out from nuclear testing in
creases. But at this point, their
distribution appears well be
low the immediate danger level
to human health. Last of three
articles.
By Alton Blakasle*
NEW YORK W — The main
bad actor atoms in bomb test fall
out are strontium, Iodine and
cesium.
Russia’s gigantic 50-megaton
bomb shot another dose of them
into the air, for winds to blow
about and for rains and snow to
bring drifting down on people
around the world.
Is this a cause of serious con
cern for Americans?
NO, ait. least, not yet, says the
US. Public Health Service which
is keeping a super-cautious eye
on fallout. Experts meeting last
week said they did not foresee
any need for protective action
even If the Soviets went ahead
with their huge explosion.
The watch is maintained (be
cause fallout atoms are potentially
a hazard, especially if quirks of
wind and weather make some lo
calities “hotter” than others.
The fallout coming from great
distance is of possible concern
only if it gets inside the body.
The trouble with strontium-90
is that it concentrates in bones,
while iodine concentrates in the
thyroid gland. Too much of these
atoms might cause cancers of the
bone or thyroid, or leukemia.
Cesium-137 becomes generally
distributed through the body, in
cluding sex glands, where It might
cause genetic changes.
flow much is too much for hu
mans? No one can answer this,
because no one is sure how little
ration it takes to cause harm
effects on the human body.
So, to play it safe, international
and U.S. experts have set ex
tremely low maximum doses for
daily intake fay humans.
Tiny Amount* Not Harmful
They think these tiny amounts
would be (tolerable without harm.
They can’t prove it. They do know
that fallout from tests so far
hasn’t gove above these limits.
These limits, as in the case of
strontium-90 for example, are at
least 100 times less than the
amount of strontium required to
produce bone cancers in labor
atory animals.
Just how much of the bad actor
atoms were created by Russia’s
monster bombs, and all its current
tests, has not been made public.
Reason: The Soviets, as well as
U.S. bomb teeters in the past, have
not divulged the makeup of the
bombs.
The H-Bomb or fusion reaction
itself does not create any stron
tium, cesium, or iodine. These
come from die A-Bomb or fission
reaction in the bomb. And the
A-Bomb reaction is needed to
produce the heat and pressure to
make the hydrogen atoms fuse.
A general assumption is that
half the energy of an H-Bomb
comes from fission. This estimate
could be far off, if the big So
viet H-Bomb was “clean”—that
is, deriving much less than half
its total energy from fission.
One estimate is that each mega
ton of fission energy produces 110
pounds of by-product fission
atoms. So a 50-megaton bomb,
getting 25 megatons of energy
yield from fission, would produce
2,750 pounds of some 200 kinds
of radioactive atoms at the outset.
Most of these “die” very quick
ly, and so don’t travel far.
Strontium-90 and cesium-137 re
main radioactive for many years.
It takes about 27 years for half
the original amount to disappear.
If taken in food, these atoms can
remain active in the 'body, emit
ting potentially damaging rays,
for a long time.
Iodina-131 Has a Half-Life
Iodine-131 has a half-life of
eight days. Half of it becomes
harmless in eight days. In another
eight days, only one-quarter of
the original amount remains.
If milk became contaminated
with iodine, keeping it refriger
ated for a month would make it
safe to drink, Dr. James Terrill
of the Public Health Service points
out.
From all bomb tests through
1958, the actual amount of stron
tium-90 in children’s bones, on
the average, was about 26 times
less than the amount deemed to
be harmless if it is in bones. All
the Soviet tests might double
this—and it would still be about
13 times less than the estimated
“safe” amount.
Fallout from tests can produce
temporary and sometimes big
jumps in the amount of radiation,
and the types of atoms, in various
localities.
As a guide for protection, the
'Federal Radiation Council has
set limits on the daily intake over
an entire year, as measured in
micromicrocuries of activity.
For strontium-90, this ranges
from 200 to 2,000, and for iodine
from 100 to 1,000. A micromicro
j curie is one millionth of one mil
i lion of a curie, with a curie being
equivalent to the radioactivity in
one gram (l/28th of an ounce) of
radium.
The Public Health Service is
keeping a daily watch of radio
activity in the ate, water milk, and
some foods, to detect any danger
ous increases.
It limits are approached or ex
ceeded, then some actions can be
taken to protect people.
For milk, switching to canned
or powdered milk—which had
been on the self long enough—or
letting fresh milk set a while,
could remove the danger from
iodine.
Washing fresh fruits and vege
tables carefully Muld remove
fallout atoms. - :
M certain crops wfere found to
be relatively high in strontium,
they could be avoided as human
food. Cows hence could Jtagpid
foraf e which had beeh jiored
inside barns or silos, and hence
not touched by fallout.
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Col. Louise Milligan and
Elmer Rasmuson Wed at
Ft. Myer, Va., Chapel
WASHINGTON U* — Col.
Louise Milligan, Director of the
Women’s Army Corps, and Elmer
Edwin Rasmuson, president of
the National Bank of Alaska, were
married Saturday in the chapel
at nearby Ft. Myer, Va.
The Rt. Rev. Magr. Joseph
Chmielewski officiated at the
ceremony, attended by members
of the family and numerous of
ficers and military officials, head
ed by Secretary of Army Elvis
Stahr Jr. A reception was held
afterward in the Ft. Myer Offi
cers Club.
Attendants were Miss Lile Ras
muson, 19, a student at Smith
College, and Edward Rasmuson,
21, a student at Harvard. Both
are children of the bridegroom, a
widower.
Rasmuson has one other child,
Judy, 16, a student at Kent Pisce,
Summit, N.J.
It was the first marriage ior
Col. Milligan.
The couple planned to fly to
Antigua in the Caribbean to spend
about two weeks.
Col. Milligan, formerly of
Pittsburgh Joined the WAC in
1942 and was appointed the fifth
director of the corps in January
1957. She plans to continue in
that post for the time being.
Rasmuson is president of the
Board of Regents of the University
of Alaska, and is secretary of
the Army’s civilian aide for Alas
ka. He also serves as vice coun
sul for Sweden in Alaska.
The bride is the daughter of
Mrs. George Vincent Milligan
and the late Mr. Milligan. Ras
muson is the son of Mrs. Edward
Anton Rasmuson, Anchorage and
the late Mr. Rasmuson.
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| | Conquer/' wot dedicated "to my
m AgiWK) I I |nP|i Grandson, Edward." Member of the
11 1jVVj Old Grand-Dad Club, Mickey Walker's
I photo hangs with other famous grand
'll fathers'— in the Old Grand-Dad Cor
]| I ner at Sardi's East, popular restaurant
t| In New York City, K
NOME NUGGET ADS PAY BIG DIVIDENDS