Abstract |
During the first calendar quarter of 1981, no radioactivity from the nuclear tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site was measured offsite by the US Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory. Low concentrations of exp 95 Zr, exp 95 Nb, exp 103 Ru, and exp 141 Ce attributed to the People's Republic of China nuclear test of October 15, 1980, were detected in air samples throughout the Air Surveillance Network. The maximum concentrations of these radionuclides were less than 0.1 percent of the Concentration Guides. The dosimeters of fixed station at Complex I (Coal Valley) indicated an exposure of 1.6 mR, and the dosimeters of two offsite residents, one living at Glendale, Nev., and the other near Complex I, (Coal Valley) appeared to have net exposures of 3.1 mR and 3.2 mR, respectively; however, further evaluation revealed that the net exposures were not due to an exposure from NTS operations, but may be a statistical anomaly related to an unusually low variation in the environmental background exposure rate. Further investigation is in progress. (ERA citation 06:032432) |