the president and the unborn generations of the united states and the world are heirs to one of the greatest energy discoveries of man's nuclear energy accompanying the tremendous advantages of this discovery are certain potential risk build them life long as these risks are and the government has the responsibility of assuring the best help the lives of people are protected while the advantages of nuclear energy are being developed nuclear energy has already another great area of the for nuclear energy is of course medical research radio iodine has been found to be an effective treatment for hyperthyroidism to give one example new programs of the atomic energy commission and other agencies are designed to expand the usefulness of nuclear energy before work is begun on any of these programs the government thoroughly evaluates the health and safety factors often for several years until it is assured that the project three major programs plan one aerospace nuclear reactor tests to the plywood share program for the peaceful uses of nuclear explosives three the seismic research program for the detection of underground nuclear detonations the first of these programs the aerospace nuclear reactor test up in nevada test site includes the development of a nuclear engine to propel rockets into outer space and the development of a reactor for use in a nuclear ramjet engine the power the ploughshare program covers several different fields one is the development of a new source of power to supplement the rapidly diminishing supply of oil coal and gas today reactor plants can provide an alternate source of power from nuclear energy however this power is now expensive because of the initial cost of the plants in the atomic energy commission his effort to find it is no sources of power one of chairs experiments involves investigation of the problems in the underground storage of heat produced by nuclear explosion and the recovery of this energy to provide electrical power industrial expansion  other objectives on the flour share program are to study the possibility of producing isotopes in these underground explosions to aid in the economical recovery of minerals upon which the expanding industries of the world a and to explore safety techniques and economic the usability of using nuclear explosions for excavation purposes and the building of harbors on  seismic research program is designed to improve methods of detecting and identifying underground other nations by seismic recordings and to determine the wave rate patterns in the immediate vicinity of the site and other stations in the seismic network to differentiate between underground explosions earthquakes or sub to rein in tremors of similar intensity is a major difficulty in the development of the seismic research program it is necessary to determine the characteristics of the seismic waves from an underground nuclear explosion that seismic stations all over the world the department of defense plays a primary role in the seismic research program with all the systems of the atomic energy commission and other agencies in the selection of an underground test site a series of test holes are drilled in a pre determined pattern known quantities of chemical high explosives are placed in the test holes and later detonate mobile seismographic units stationed at measure distances from the test poles pick up and record the resulting shock waves seismic recordings of the earth's underground jammers are made from each detonation in the test holes near the explosion was made by chemical high explosives relatively close to the surface seismic recordings produce considerable data on the underground geologic straighter and hydrologic formations these data contribute to the final site selection before briber ations are made for nuclear detonations seismic research and other programs where the explosions are deep underground no radioactivity is expected to reach the atmosphere as a result of the detonations but the possibility that radiation may event through cannot be overlooked safety precautions such as collection of water samples from deep wells at the site area from private wells and other water sources will be used to determine if significant contamination reach water  supplies them safety precautions to protect workers at the site will include the use of film badges and monitoring for possible service radiation for the protection of the people in the vicinity ground crews will monitor for radioactivity in the days and communities other nearby facilities before and after each test geodetic survey the bureau of mines and various other agencies the efforts of these agencies together with those of state health departments form a giant network that protects the health of the people the public health service offsite radiological safety staff provides radiation surveillance support for the nuclear energy exploration programs the support requires the cooperation of everyone involved it requires taking every reasonable precaution to safeguard the environment and health of the people who might be within the range of radiation effects from tests officers of the division of radiological health of the public health service are concerned with a broad spectrum of health problems related to nuclear radiation they are assigned to various activities and participate in nuclear energy exploration operating programs the weather bureau acts in a staff capacity to provide data on pertinent weather and media or logical conditions it predicts surface radiation patterns prior to the test impact right up to the last minute before the detonation pre test whether breathing is consider the possibility of down wind rain or snow the wind direction and speed of various out of the two and high and low pressure areas although the possibility of radiation escaping from contained underground we are detonations is small a close check is made on meteorological conditions as an additional safety precaution with the weather bureau in this capacity the public health service provided the atomic energy commission with data on the actual measurements of the surface radiation the yield and patterns and how they may have deviated from the predicted estimates the u s geological survey plays an important part in nuclear energy exploration programs in the investigation of the technical problems relating to the selection of a site which will provide maximum safety board or public special emphasis is given to the location of water bering strai samples of rock or and minerals are collected from the site area and examined to provide data on the underground geological strata and formations geologists also take water blow measurements and straightest surrounding the proposed test area and advise on the relation between the surface and ground the coast and geodetic survey also assists and providing recorded data on seismic vibrations emanating from underground explosions in the ploughshare i'm seismic research programs the seismometer is activated by the ground