Appendix E

External DoseEstimates fromNTS Fallout

E-1

External Radiation Exposure to the Population of theContinental U.S. from Nevada Weapons Tests andEstimates of Deposition Density of Radionuclides ThatCould Significantly Contribute to Internal RadiationExposure via Ingestion

Harold L. Beck Report to the National Cancer Institute in fulfillment of P.O. #263-MQ-909853June 30, 1999 (revised Nov. 1, 1999)

E-2

Abstract

This report provides estimates of the external radiation exposure and whole-bodyeffective dose received by residents of the continental U.S. during the period 1951-1962from weapons tests carried out at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Estimates are given on acounty- by-county basis for each test and for each year of testing. The average committedpopulation dose from all NTS tests was about 0.5 mSv, about equivalent to 1-2 years of external radiation exposure from natural background. Residents of the countiesimmediately downwind from the NTS incurred much higher doses, in excess of 3 mSv,while the residents of the Far West, Pacific Northwest and Southeast received lower thanaverage exposures. The tests and radionuclides that contributed the most exposure arediscussed, as well as the dependence on fallout time of arrival. The most exposedindividuals were outdoor workers; the least exposed were persons who spent most of their time indoors in heavily constructed buildings.The deposition of radionuclides that contribute to internal radiation exposure via theingestion pathway was also calculated on a county-by-county and test-by-test basis. Thegeneral pattern of deposition, tests contributing the most to the deposition, depositiondensity versus distance from the NTS, and the differences in deposition betweenradionuclides are discussed. In general the deposition of long-lived radionuclides such asSr-90 and Cs-137 was about a factor of 20 less than that from “global fallout” from high-yield weapons tests carried out in the Pacific and Soviet Union. However, the depositionof short-lived isotopes such as I-131 was greater than from “global fallout.”E-3