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Appendix F: Unit Dose Reconstruction for Task Force Warrior at Operation PLUMBBOB, Shot SMOKY
Pages 349-360

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From page 349...
... . F.2 ACTIVITIES OF TASK FORCE WARRIOR AT SHOT SMOKY The discussions in this appendix concern only particular activities of Task Force WARRIOR in the first few hours after detonation of Shot SMOKY, specifically attempts by two units of the task force, the 2nd and 3rd Platoons of Company C, to reach the objectives of a planned maneuver shown in Figure F
From page 350...
... (=~W . _ Ad, "98 FICTIVE F.1 Map of maneuvers of Task Force WARRIOR at Operation PLllMBBOB, Shot SMOKY (Harris et al., 1981)
From page 351...
... At that time, the commander of Task Force WARRIOR reported to the battle group commander that "the 2nd and 3rd Platoons, attacking to seize Objectives 2A and 2B, had advanced to the points permitted by [radiation safety] personnel and had been halted prior to seizure of Objective 2" (Jensen, 1957~.
From page 352...
... The presence of an extensive dust cloud is significant because the area affected by the blast wave from Shot SMOKY was contaminated by fallout from previous shots, including PLUMB BOB Shots BOLTZMANN, DIABLO, and SHASTA (see Table IV.C.1 in Section IV.C.2.1.1 and Figure V.C.6 in Section V.C.3.2~. F.4 DOSE RECONSTRUCTION FOR TASK FORCE WARRIOR This section describes aspects of the unit dose reconstruction for Task Force WARRIOR (Goetz et al., 1979)
From page 353...
... Film-badge records for members of the task force were available for use in dose reconstruction. The report notes that many participants were issued two film badges, the first covering pre-shot operations up to August 27 and the second covering the period from August 27 to September 2, including operations on the day of Shot SMOKY.
From page 354...
... Finally, the analysts developed an upper-bound estimate of external dose to individual members of Task Force WARRIOR of 1,530 mrem based on filmbadge readings during pre-shot and post-shot phases of the operation. In discussing the upper-bound estimate, the report notes that "if the group of 20 [film badges]
From page 355...
... F.6 ALTERNATIVE EXPOSURE SCENARIO FOR TASK FORCE WARRIOR The committee believes that there is a plausible explanation for the unusually high film-badge readings that apparently occurred for members of at least one of the two platoons during the aborted assault on Objectives 2A and 2B on Quartzite Ridge. This explanation does not require assumptions that a platoon did not follow the plan of assault, and it is based on observations at a later shot in the area of Shot SMOKY.
From page 356...
... Second, ground survey teams that approached ground zero from different radial directions within the first 3 hours after detonation of Shot SMOKY, including a monitor who approached from the southwest, encountered conditions that caused erratic instrument readings and contamination of the instruments (REECO, undated; Harris et al., 1981~. Those conditions could have been caused only by airborne radionuclides that were not carried in the rapidly rising fireball but were separated from the fireball, probably by reflection of the blast wave from the slopes of surrounding mesas, including a mesa to the north indicated in Figure F.1.
From page 357...
... Thus, the committee believes that the most likely scenario for exposure of at least one of the platoons on Quartzite Ridge is that airborne radionuclides that were separated from the rapidly rising fireball were transported from the area around ground zero by surface winds generated by an updraft at the slopes of mesas to the north and west of Quartzite Ridge as the slopes were heated by the morning sun. The credibility of that scenario is supported by a similar occurrence at underground Shot BANEBERRY near ground zero of Shot SMOKY and by the evident presence of substantial amounts of airborne radionuclides at low elevations in the vicinity of ground zero for more than 3 hours after detonation.
From page 358...
... Plausible scenarios that could have resulted in substantially higher doses than were obtained in a dose reconstruction were not considered. Indeed, in contrast to the unit dose reconstruction for Task Force WARRIOR, in which the
From page 359...
... 1979. Analysis of Radiation Exposure for Task Force WARRIOR Shot SMOKY Exercise Desert Rock VII-VIII, Operation PLUMBBOB.
From page 360...
... batlged dose: An estimate of a person's external radiation (lose, specifically the deep equivalent close from external exposure to photons, as derived from readings of exposure by one or more film badges assigned to the person. basal cells: Cells in the epidermis that give rise to more specialized cells and act as stem cells.


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