Science: The Deadly Dust

Atom bomb tacticians believe that the best place to explode a bomb is high above the target, where blast and heat do the most damage. Since the radioactive fission products of such "air bursts" are carried upward and dissipated harmlessly, civil defense workers, with no deadly contamination to worry about, could go straight at the problems of less subtle death and destruction.*

Last week Colonel Lawrence Wilkinson New York State's new Civil Defense boss, showed that he did not believe an enemy would necessarily be tactically orthodox in planning a bombing assault: he issued a detailed plan for detecting radioactive contamination.

Wilkinson based his warning on the proposition that an enemy cannot be depended upon to be both rule-bound and militarily efficient. An enemy might explode his bombs on the ground or, particularly in an attack on river-girdled New York City, might set them off under water deliberately sacrificing some of their blast effect. In such cases, radioactive contamination would become a massive problem. The deadly dust or spray drifting slowly downwind would not be obviously dangerous. Its radiation could not be detected by any human sense, and a man might absorb a fatal dose of it before feeling any ill effect.

Red Chalk. According to Wilkinson's plan, each "target city" (seven cities in New York State have been listed as bomb-worthy) would have at least ten radiological reconnaissance teams, dressed in protective clothing, with dust-excluding respirators. In each five-man team, four would have radiation detectors (i.e., Geiger counters or equivalents), the fifth a walky-talky radio for reporting to the control center. Their equipment would be stored at points in a circle around the city, well outside the prime target area.

If a bomb exploded, each team would pick up its equipment and move as fast as possible toward the center of the damage area. As soon as their instruments detected radioactivity, they would report its intensity and position to the control center. When a team encountered radiation above 30 roentgens per hour, it would chalk a red "D" (for danger) on a house wall. (A green "S" would mean safe.) Then the team would turn and move around the damage center in a clockwise pattern tracing the limits of the 30-roentgen area and marking it with red "D's."

Marked Map. Back in the control center each report from the team would be marked on a city map, which would swiftly form a pattern of radiological warning. Guided by the marked map the control center would then be ready to issue evacuation orders. If the people in "hot" areas got out quickly (a few blocks might be enough), they might not be seriously damaged. If they stayed too long (or stampeded into a danger area) they would soon be beyond help.

Besides the radiological reconnaissance teams, says Colonel Wilkinson, each target city should have at least 100 trained men with instruments to detect "personal contamination" (radioactive clothing or skin). There should also be a central laboratory with highly trained personnel for checking instruments and dealing with unforeseen problems.