This version is an update of the original
technical volume published in 2000, and a later General
Reader edition published in 2002. The new volume includes fallout values
from the 1958 Hardtack series and the Underground Test Series. It also includes
fallout maps for shot Baneberry, the 1970 underground test that vented debris
8,000 feet into the atmosphere.:
A brief history of the US Atlas of Nuclear Fallout
The First Edition (Total Fallout) 2000.
The first book in this series was written over a period
of two years from 1998 through 2000 and published in 2000. Based on data from
the National Cancer Institute's 15-year, 100,000-page radioiodine study, the
book preparation involved two years and over 30 Gigabytes of data. When it
was completed in early 2000, the book included over 700 pages of maps and tables
detailing nuclear fallout in the United States from the Nevada Test Site.
From the original edition:
"The first volume of the U.S. Atlas of Nuclear
Fallout included 11 figures, 137 tables, 135 formulas, 166 2D
maps and 94 3D maps showing where the nuclear fallout landed.
It took 15 years for the NCI to analyze, compile and publish
county-by-county exposure data information regarding radioactive
iodine (Iodine-131) from nuclear fallout. However, radioactive iodine-131
makes up only two percent of the isotopes in nuclear fallout.
Environmental exposure specialist Richard L. Miller wondered
about the other 98 percent of the radioactive isotopes in fallout.
So, using the NCI data as a starting point, Miller calculated
the TOTAL FALLOUT deposition from every major aboveground nuclear test for
every county in the United States. The book shows the paths the nuclear clouds
took after leaving the Nevada Test Site, and the more than 10,000 cities,
towns and villages in the path of the clouds. The book also includes
lists of each nuclear test's specific or unusual isotopes. Counties
are ranked by fallout and rainout potential, and a special section
shows which counties received the most Cobalt-60, Cesium-137,
Beryllium-7 or Uranium-237.
Three-dimensional maps are used to
show fallout and radioisotope levels in specific regions of the
country, including the West, Midwest, South and East Coast. In
addition, the top 15 counties are ranked for exposure to 45 different
radioisotopes, from Beryllium-7 through Zirconium-95. In addition,
the book includes a section titled Nuclear Fallout and Cancer.
Using three different statistical techniques, the author evaluates
the nationwide association between nuclear fallout and most of
the cancers listed in the National Cancer Institute's recent
Cancer Atlas. A special section is included that analyzes the
association between cancer and fallout for the 513 Midwestern
counties in the states of Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and
Nebraska. In this section are also included tables discussing
toxicities and half-lives of the radionuclides found in fallout. "
The data indicates that many fallout isotopes, such as
Strontium-90 and Americium-241, remain long after the aboveground
nuclear testing ended. If you want to know where you home county
ranks in terms of nuclear fallout, this is the book to read. There
are 10,000 cities, towns and villages listed along with every U.S.
county (even one that no longer exists).
County deposition values are included for Total Fallout as well
as the top 15 US counties for following radioactive fallout components:
beryllium-7, sodium-24, manganese-24, iron-59, cobalt-60, copper-64,
bromine-82, bromine-83, strontium-89, strontium-90, yttrium-90,
yttrium-91, niobium-95, niobium-95m, zirconium-95, molybdenum-99,
technectium-99m, ruthenium-106, silver-109m, palladium-111m,
paladium-112, silver-112, cadmium-115, indium-115m, indium-117,
antimony-126, tellurium-127m, iodine-130, iodine-131, iodine-132,
iodine-133, iodine-135, cesium-137, barium-137, lanthanum-141,
cerium-144, samarium-153, Europium-155, terbium-161, tungsten-181,
tungsten-185, gold-198, gold-199, uranium-237, neptunium-239,
uranium-240, Americium-241 and Curium-242.
The General Reader Edition 2002
The U.S. Atlas of Nuclear Fallout 1951-1962 Volume
1 was dense with information, but we wanted to know what the average
reader thought about it. So we sent it to librarians around the country,
among them, Wendy Bossie (Caribou ME), Symma Zerkow (Houston, TX), Patty
Gross (Council Valley, ID), , Kathleen Adam (Shenandehowa, NY), Bev Russel
(Scottsbluff, NE) and Arlene Ott (Cody, WY.) All read the book and responded
with thoughtful reviews. All said the book was thorough, but probably too
technical for the average reader. Thus began the General Reader Edition Project
in which Volume 1 of the Fallout Atlas would be turned into a book understandable
by the average reader.
The task turned out to be more difficult
than expected---and took much longer to complete. But by early
2002, the manuscript was ready to send out to the librarians.
They all pronounced the new version much easier to understand.
In May, 2002 the U.S. Atlas of Nuclear Fallout 1951-1962--General
Reader Edition was officially published.
The current edition covering the years 1951-1970
(2006)
The 2006 edition of Volume I covers fallout
from the years 1951 through 1970 and includes major underground
ventings such as the Baneberry event of December 18, 1970. In
March, 2003, the data comprising the book were recalculated and
re-checked using updated statistical programs. The series flow
was changed to include more precise estimates. The original Volume
3, County Comparisons, was changed to Volume 2 in the new series,
and dividing the data into Eastern and Western
US for Volumes
3 and 4 respectively allowed more precise fallout estimates.
Volume 5, Calculations, remained unchanged.
All three editions of the first volume are
available at Amazon.com.
