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Science & Technology
Radioactive Fallout from the Trinity Nuclear Test Impacted 46 U.S. States, Study Finds
2023-07-24
[GIZMADO] As millions of people head to the theaters this weekend to see Christopher Nolan’s epic Oppenheimer, a new study has been released that tracks the radioactive devastation wrought by the U.S. government’s first nuclear weapons test. The "Trinity" test, as it was secretly known, was the first nuclear detonation by the American military, occurring on July 16, 1945. That test resulted in the distribution of radioactive deposits to 46 U.S. states, as well as to parts of Canada and Mexico, the new research shows. The report also attempts to analyze the impact of the dozens of other "atmospheric" nuclear weapons tests carried out by the federal government between 1951 and 1962 inside the United States. The tests, researchers say, caused "widespread dispersion of radioactive fallout" and led to "environmental contamination and population exposures." Here are some of the key takeaways from the new report.
Posted by:Besoeker

#9  My late FIL was w/ SAC (7th Bomb Wing) and flew on B-36 out of Carswell during those times. He was part of two missions that were sent thru the mushroom clouds in the 50’s to study affects on men and machine. Said it was the most beautiful, terrifying mixture of green and orange colors he’d ever seen.

Side note - I attended one of the group’s last reunions and had a grand time just listening and seeing these gentlemen. At my table, were a couple of fellas involved w/ Flying Tigers, a person who was on recon flight over Hiroshima or Nagasaki day after for damage photos and several B—17 personnel that had transferred after WWII into LeMay’s flying circus of Nuke bombers. Salute!
Posted by: Everyday a Wildcat (KSU)   2023-07-24 22:27  

#8  I was wondering what Godzilla was doing in NM...
Posted by: Regular joe   2023-07-24 16:12  

#7  I ran the Nellis AFB desert northeast of Mercury, NV for a number of years. Developed a condition we called alligator skin. When exposed skin tans, dries and cracks, generally my legs. For the longest time I thought it was due to hot sun and low humidity but guys that ran in pants didn't get it, nor exposed arms and faces.

Later I learned of alpha particle decay and radiation dermatitis from the dust I kicked up running. Can't imagine what I breathed.
Posted by: Skidmark   2023-07-24 10:17  

#6  /\ Perhaps Chernobyl in 1986 was simply another example of Russian paranoia ?
Posted by: Besoeker   2023-07-24 08:20  

#5  Genetic predisposition is also a factor. That with environmental insult added will probably not go well. Then you meet the 88 year old guy who's been smoking filterless since he was 9.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2023-07-24 08:09  

#4  We grew up "down wind", should have shown up in retarded life expectancy in the population by now. Another the sky is falling exercise. Far more people have died of other things in the interim than your ability to discretely show the effects of open air radiation down wind other than in the immediate area of the tests.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2023-07-24 07:59  

#3  to be upwind of a nuke blast

Poss meant 'downwind'.
Posted by: Skidmark   2023-07-24 07:54  

#2  Dad grew up in Fallon, NV. Died of a glioblastoma. Always wondered if there was a link
Posted by: Frank G   2023-07-24 06:44  

#1  I met a fellow who retired as an Army O-5 in '65, who was one of the "volunteers" to be upwind of a nuke blast in Nevada in the '50's. The government regularly checked on him for effects of that blast throughout his life.
Posted by: Besoeker   2023-07-24 01:43  

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