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1 million curies
The Army wanted the tests to lead to a "completed munition containing
one megacurie of activity" by 1954, but documents do not reveal
whether that goal was achieved.A megacurie is 1 million curies of
radiation, which the Army hoped to spread over areas of between one
and 10 square miles.
"To put that in context, one curie (the amount of radiation from one
gram of radium) is about the most that Madam Curie ever had in her
lab. And that killed her (by leukemia), her daughters and most of her
workers," said Preston J. Truman, president of the Down-win-ders
watchdog group.
Keith Schiager, director of the University of Utah Radiological Health
Department, said most scientists in protective clothing measure their
radiation exposure in thousandths, millionths or even smaller
increments of curies.
Truman added, "All the low-level radioactive waste dumped at the
Envirocare facility in the desert each year - under tight control -
amounts to only 1 or 2 curies . . . Material that hot (the Dugway test
material) would never be allowed at Envirocare. It wasn't low-level
stuff."
The largest of the known tests was expected to release 30,000 curies
in 1951. Officials called it a "heat transfer study" to help them
research and address "the problem involved in the dissipation of heat
generated in an RW (radiological warfare) munition."
Truman said, "30,000 curies is about what some of the leaks from
underground (nuclear bomb) testing in Nevada released. That's a lot."
Very hot stuff
All the tests used radioactive tantalum, a metallic element. Morgan
said the isotope the Army probably used was tantalum 182 - which he
said likely would have been made by placing regular tantalum 181 in
nuclear reactors at Oak Ridge, allowing it to capture an extra
electron over time and become radioactive.
"It was very hot stuff," he said. Morgan, who is also a retired
professor of nuclear physics at Georgia Tech, added that maybe only
plutonium was more dangerous among common radioactive material at the
time. He said tantalum 182 was more cancer-causing than such elements
as cesium and strontium 90.
Morgan was chairman of a committee that established
permissible exposure levels for various radioactive materials,
including tantalum 182. He said acceptable exposure was just 7
microcuries (seven one-thousandths), based on its potential to cause
cancer in the liver or the gastrointestinal tract.
Morgan said workers could be around air with no more than .00000009
microcuries per cubic centimeter of air. The maximum allowed for the
general public was one-thirtieth of that amount.
"It was not something you would want to be around," Morgan said.
How dangerous?
Morgan, Schiager and Truman said assessing exactly how dangerous the
testing was cannot be done without knowing the weather and wind
conditions, how far material was spread, the size of the particles and
the extent of cleanup.
The Deseret News has requested such information. But Pentagon
spokesman Bob Potter said providing the material would require
significant research, if such 42-year-old information even exists, and
the newspaper's request is in line behind dozens of other requests.He
did not expect that a response would be generated promptly.
But Schiager said, "When the tests talk about dropping radioactive
pellets, it makes it sound like the particles were big enough that
they would fall to the ground fairly quickly.
"They could still blow a ways, like maybe a mile or two - but not
hundreds of miles," he said. "But all that is just a guess without
knowing exactly how big the particles were. And you don't have that."
Morgan said researchers at Oak Ridge, where he
worked, would have covered any such pellets with stainless steel, "and
then they could have been collected on the ground easily by someone
using a Geiger counter. But I don't have any idea if Dugway did that."
He said other experiments designed to spread radioactive dust or
explode tantalum into small particles make him worry that "they could
have gone all over in the wind," possibly reaching cities or
"getting into the food chain." Dugway is a huge base, where wildlife
freely roam in and out of the borders.
Lax safety?
Wording in some of the documents could add fuel to worries about
contamination spreading beyond Dugway.
First in 1951, a subcommittee overseeing radiological weapons testing
recommended that "meteorological requirements for carrying out the
tests could be reduced considerably, if necessary, in order to get the
tests off on time" - which suggests the Army was more concerned about
schedules than safety.
The same committee also recommended a change so that "no detailed
upper air meteorological data are required subsequent to two or three
hours after each test" - which could present problems in knowing how
far small particles may have traveled.
Also, documents about cluster-bomb testing in 1950 indicate more
powerful explosives were used than in 1949, in an effort to "cause
greater break-up of particles" - which might allow them to travel
farther, and not quickly fall to the ground.
And documents discussing dust-generator tests in 1950 noted that in at
least three of 15 scheduled tests, "no control over particle size
appears possible" - meaning the extent of the dispersal could not be
pre-determined. Designers said they hoped particles could "be
dispersed over large areas."
But Army documents did note the military directed that "as low an
amount of radioactivity should be used . . as is consistent with
accurate samples (about 500 curies per sq. mi.)" Dugway's track record
Still, some previously disclosed behavior by Dugway in the same time
period with chemical and biological warfare tests may also raise some
concern about its radiological work.
For example, the Deseret News revealed three years ago that Dugway
scientists dropped toxic cadmium sulfide from airplanes throughout the
Eastern United States without warning in tests designed to see how
biological agents might be spread.
Other documents released through the years to the Deseret News and
Congress said that chemical and biological tests were not confined to
the base in Utah. For example, one 66-square-mile area south of the
base is so contaminated that the military wanted to add it to Dugway's
borders.
Morgan said he visited Dugway a couple of times in the 1950s while
such testing was ongoing and was under instructions to help the Army
where possible with some technical problems. "But I didn't know what
it was doing. If I had, I would have raised all hell."
But he noted the military was "under tremendous pressure" to gauge the
feasibility of radiological and other warfare. Morgan is currently
writing a book about what he feels were government excesses with
radiation testing in that period.
Full-scale program
The testing at Dugway was not just a few isolated experiments, but was
part of a full-scale radiological warfare program designed to test the
feasibility of using "products from the atomic pile to produce death
or casualties in man, animals and plants."
Because such a program "requires large areas and isolation from human
habitation for test security reasons and because of the extreme
hazards involved," the Army chose Dugway and the then-adjoining
Wendover Air Force Base as its home "after an extensive survey and
study of field test sites."
Documents said much of the chemical and biological work already under
way at Dugway would blend nicely with radiation weapons work, and
"therefore some personnel may be used for work in all three fields."
Of note, 12,000 open-air chemical tests would be conducted at Dugway
in the 1950s and '60s, as would about 2,500 germ warfare tests that
have been revealed. That was on top of the radiological tests.
In 1949, documents said the radiation warfare program at Dugway
included 190 people, and had a budget that year for construction alone
of $1.6 million.
Documents suggest that testing may have occurred at several places
around Dugway, but the only one specifically named is a site near Wig
Mountain. Officials thought it was too small and recommended against
using it.
Officials had recommended using tests sites for a year and then
letting them sit dormant for two years before using them again - which
it said would allow radiation intensity from leftover tantalum to
decrease by a factor of 64. Morgan said the half-life of tantalum 182
is a relatively short 115 days.
Targets cities too
Documents show the program was not just developing radiological
weapons for battlefield use but also for possible use against cities.
Officials complained in one document, for example: "There is no
terrain at Dugway which reasonably simulates the cities and built-up
areas of the targets on which RW (radiological warfare) might be
used."
Another document said that might be overcome by a possible test attack
or two "of a built-up area in the Savannah River region" around
Georgia.
Truman said, "We (Down-winders) sought documents about radiation
warfare for years, but all we got was outright denials or statements
saying they couldn't find any documents about it."
How many tests?
New documents released to the Deseret News plus information earlier
released by the General Accounting Office identify 31 specific
radiological weapons tests from 1949 to 1952. But Deseret News
documents suggest more than 600 may have occurred in the period, and
that testing may have continued for years afterward.
A document describing six tests planned in 1951 notes they were
numbered "Field Tests 619-624," which suggests 618 other field tests
had already occurred. It is unclear whether the number referred to
radiation tests alone, or a mixture of radiation, chemical and
biological warfare tests.
Documents also said testing was planned through at least 1954, and
maybe beyond. Also in previous years, the Deseret News obtained
documents about germ and biological testing that mentioned some
radiological tests planned later in the 1950s and '60s.
For example, earlier obtained documents from the old Army Chemical
Corps said that in 1957, a study on the "feasibility of rapid aerial
surveys of large-scale radiological contamination" was undertaken. To
do that, it contaminated areas "1,500 yards long and 100 yards wide,
in which 4,000 curies of cobalt 60 had been placed in source wells."
The same report even said radiological weapons had major advantages
over chemical and germ weapons because they "(were) less affected by
meteorological conditions, produced longer periods of denial and
(were) less subject to personnel protective measures."
Other documents mentioned that radiological warfare tests were
conducted at Dugway from 1960 to 1962, in part to scrutinize shielding
methods during a moratorium on open-air nuclear bomb tests. When the
bomb tests resumed, those radiological shielding tests at Dugway seem
to have been discontinued.
Previously obtained documents mention that an interesting part of the
weapon research in 1962 included looking at "the possibility of
developing a ray gun weapon employing a linear electron accelerator."
A contract for such research was given to General Electric.
Questions about how many tests occurred and for how long were directed
to Dugway, which deferred to the Chemical and Biological Defense
Command, which deferred to Army headquarters, which deferred to the
Defense Department.
Its spokesman, Potter, said a response would require research that
could not be completed in the immediate future.
One person who believes the Army conducted hundreds of radiological
tests is Truman with the Downwinders.
"That's because we continually have received calls and heard rumors
through the years that the government tested atomic bombs at Dugway,"
he said.
"I don't believe that. They couldn't have gotten away with that. Too
many people would have noticed, and our research has never shown
anything like that happened . . . But maybe people heard friends
talking about radiological weapons. And radiation translated into
nuclear bomb tests in their minds," he said.
What now?
Truman said he hopes revelation of the new tests will galvanize Utahns
into seeking a full accounting of all tests at Dugway through the
years and and an assessment of the risk they posed.
"What else did they do? How much ground is contaminated out there?" he
asked. "Maybe it's time that glasnost applied to Dugway and we get an
inventory of what all they did do out there."
Morgan said, "I think it's been clearly established that Dugway did
many things it knew were dangerous at the time and which we know today
could be disastrous."
He added, "Much of this might have been acceptable in a war when you
were facing someone like a Hitler . . . But afterwards, the Army was
using propaganda more than facts to spend money on its tests."
*****
Additional Information
RADIATION WEAPONS TEST IN UTAH
Specific radiation weapons tests revealed so far:
Oct. 22, 1949 - (Previously disclosed by U.S. General Accounting
Office) A 2,000-pound cluster bomb full of radioactive tantalum metal
and the explosive tritonal contaminated an area 0.6 square miles in
size at Dugway Proving Ground. Radiation released: not available.
Nov. 30, 1949 - (Previously disclosed by GAO) Another 2,000-pound
cluster bomb full of a radioactive tantalum isotope contaminated an
area 0.8 square miles in size. Radiation released: not available.
Aug. 3, 1950 - Another cluster bomb with tantalum and TNT was exploded
about 800 feet above the ground, after being dropped from 20,000 feet.
Designers believed powerful TNT would break up the tantalum into
smaller particles that could spread further. Radiation released: 1,500
curies (1,000 times the amount released by the Three Mile Island
nuclear reactor accident).
Aug. 5, 1950 - Another variation of a cluster bomb with tantalum and
an explosive called "composition B" was exploded 800 feet above
ground. Designers also thought that powerful explosive might also
break up tantalum into smaller particles for possibly wider
dissemination. Radiation released: 1,500 curies.
Aug. 10-25, 1950 - Four different tests exploded different shapes of
radioactive metal to see which would best spread contamination. The
best shapes would later be used in cluster bombs. Each test was
estimated to release 100 curies of radiation.
Sept. 5, 1950 - (Existence of test previously disclosed, but no
details) A cluster bomb filled with tantalum and the explosive
tritonal was exploded. It included a "cooling jacket" that "may be
required in order to dissipate the large amounts of heat which will be
generated in a RW (radiation weapon) munition at megacurie (1 million
curie) levels." Designers wanted to see what effect the cooling jacket
would have on how much area was contaminated. Radiation released:
1,500 curies.
Sept. 8, 1950 - (Existence of test previously disclosed, but no
details) A cluster bomb filled with tantalum and the explosive amatol
released 7,500 curies. The amount of radiation was increased so "the
operating personnel may gain experience in handling radioactive
materials at a level intermediate between the 1,500 curie level of
previous tests and the 30,000 curie level required for the heat
transfer studies."
Sept. 11-16, 1950 - Small dust generators that spread radioactive
specks were tested in 15 different experiments. Ten disseminated
radioactive tantalum pentoxide in unspecified, controlled particle
sizes. Three disseminated tantalum pentacholride in uncontrolled
sizes. Two disseminated a fused mixture tantalum pentoxide and various
compounds of potassium and silicon. Radiation released: not available.
November, 1950 - A "heat transfer" study exploded 30,000 curies of
tantalum in a cluster bomb to study "the problem involved in the
dissipation of the heat generated in an RW (radiation weapon) munition."
1951 - Documents show six tests were planned and approved and
scheduled to begin in May. They would test new versions of cluster
bombs; smaller spheres that would drop from planes, burst and spread
radioactive pellets; and a system to spread radioactive pellets from
hoppers in high-altitude aircraft.
The U.S. General Accounting Officely said it had data saying one test
was conducted in November, 1952, but had few details about it.
Radiation released: not available.
May, 1951 - The GAO said it had information that a radiation weapon
test was conducted in that month, but had few details about it.
Radiation released: not available.
**Documents obtained by the Deseret News suggest that more than 600
tests may have occurred. The Pentagon said it cannot confirm or deny
that without much more research, and said the newspaper's request for
such information is in line behind dozens of other requests - so more
information may not be coming soon. |
