Divine Strake in Nevada: Background Radiation

It is important to clarify some of the misconceptions that can arise when discussing Divine Strake while referencing background radiation, naturally-occurring radiation and man-made radiation.  Let's use the reference made in the article titled 'Awaiting the Divine' in the L.A. City Beat which reads,

The background radiation assessment will give the DOE a baseline to determine how much radiation Divine Strake will throw into the atmosphere, and whether or not that amount would be beyond "normal" levels.  "There's background radiation just about everywhere in this country, and, for that fact, throughout the northern hemisphere," says Kevin Rohrer, spokesman for the Nevada Test Site.

For more about the time frame when this statement was made, click here 

It is important to note that that Mr. Rohrer is using the term 'background radiation' to refer to naturally-occurring radiation and man-made radiation.  Naturally-occurring radiation refers to radiation caused by sun exposure and cosmic rays from space, and also radioactive elements found in the earth's crust such as radon, uranium, thorium, and potassium.  Man-made radiation includes nuclear fallout and radioactive substances found in some commercial products, such as building materials. 

The real gist behind what Mr. Rohrer is saying is that Divine Strake's fallout may include small amounts of natural and/or man-made radiation but that it won't be detectable beyond levels of man-made radiation - fallout from global and NTS tests - in soils across the U.S.  

First, this type of statement by federal agencies implies denial of the U.S.' contribution to world-wide (and U.S.) levels of radiation.  Federal agencies have repeatedly used terms such as 'global' or 'worldwide' fallout, or put the blame on 'several countries,' to divert blame for contamination - if it exists - at the site of the Divine Strake blast and the 'normal' levels of contamination 'just about everywhere.'  

May 2006 NNSA Press Release: 'Atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons by several countries in the 1950s and 1960s resulted in the dispersion of radioactive fallout throughout the northern hemisphere. The efforts of the Nevada Site Office are focused on explaining, in a means clearly understandable to all, what background radiation from this fallout means with respect to the contemplated DIVINE STRAKE experiment.'

This manner of reasoning is confusing because the U.S. conducted nearly 1,000 atomic bomb tests at the Nevada Test Site, rendering it one of the most radioactively contaminated areas in the world and also spewing tens of millions of tons of radioactively-lethal fission products across the U.S., Canada and overseas. 

Second, Nevada Test Site officials consistently try to minimize the health consequences of initial and lingering fallout from nuclear testing.   These 'normal levels' of radiation across our country were associated with fallout from U.S. nuclear testing that entered cows milk that was consumed by tens of thousands of children, fell onto people's scalps that resulted in immediate hair loss, and resulted in hundreds of thousands of human cancers.  No amount of man-made radiation is safe and so no one should be allowed to rationalize the addition of more radiation into our ail, soil and water.  

The final issue with the statement by Mr. Rohrer is that there has been no comprehensive study or proposed attempt by the NNSA to determine background levels of radiation (i.e., what radioisotopes exist where and in what quantities) across the U.S., especially in the areas expected to receive Divine Strake fallout.   Imagine that two weeks after the blast a scientist finds unusually high levels of Americium-241 in populated areas in southern Idaho; the NNSA can claim 'The scientist's finding is consistent with the expected background levels of radiation from global fallout during the 1950s in that area.'     

Finally, it is important to note the difference between naturally-occurring radiation and man-made radiation.  Despite the fact that they are often lumped into the same category of 'background radiation,' the toxicity and potency differs greatly between the two types.  Although several forms of naturally-occurring radiation, such as radon, can induce cancer, there is far greater concern about the potency of man-made radiation to human health.   This makes the most sense when the effects of both are discussed on atomic level.  In 1982, the Lawrence Berkeley Radiation Laboratory (Berkeley, Calif.) showed that a single particle of plutonium, when in the body, will commence destruction of surrounding cells immediately.  A plutonium particle can penetrate more than 1,000 cells in just 48 hours causing ionization and free-radical formation, which are precursors to genetic defects, immune deficiency, and leukemia/cancer.   Since it never decays to safe levels in the body, plutonium is perpetually damaging to the body.  The same cannot be said for one particle of radon (gas).  The level of radon exposure that the EPA considers hazardous (requiring of remedial action) is 4 picoCuries, equivalent to 10,000 radioactive radon atoms passing through the lungs per minute.    

Click on the Nevada tab on the top menu bar to read more.