Evening star., 1962-03-23
BY FRANK CAREY
Associated Press Staff Writer

human intake of radioactive
strontium 80, the fallout ma
terial of greatest potential con-
Germ from the health stand
point.
. Strontium 80 is chemically |
akin to calcium and concen-
trates in the bones, where it is |
capable of causing bone cancer
or leukemia. The radioactive |
material can be on vegetables
or grains eaten directly by man
or can pass along indirectly
through grass eaten by COWS,
then into the milk or meat.
Stages Of Fall
While the settling of the fall
out Is expected to last for sew
eral monthS-reaching it's max
imum in the rains of late April
or early May-the bulk of the
debris in the StratoSphere may
come down in two steps, part
this spring and the rest in the
spring of 1868.
And, some of the debris may |
fall gradually over seven or
eight successive springs.
This was the situation as OBJ
tanned in interviews with Pub
lie Health Service and Weather !
Bureau officials. The views are
a followup to the forecasts of
last fall and winter that most |
of the debris from the Russian
testS-that is, the component
originally spread high in the
stratoSphere-would not begin
to come down until this spring
Officials of the Health Serv-
less division of Pathological
health said that as yet there's
no discernible evidence that the
fallout is beginning to come |
down, although they expect it
to begin soon.
Analysis Takes Time
Declaring that the first gauge
would be the appearance of any
increased levels-however small |
- Of radioactive strontium 80
in milk, they said it would take
about week from the time of
initial fallout to get a rough"
estimate. And, it would take six
weeks to get a precise analysis
of strontium 80 and other COM
ponents of fallout in a given
milk sample.
They pointed out that moni-
toring the air for so-called
gross beta activity"-the rela-
lively rough gauge for keeping
tabs on the immediate situation
when the Russian tests were
being conducted last falls
not very satisfactory for moni-
toring the fall of the debris
which has remained in the
stratosphere since the tests.
They said the trough" esti-
mates of strontium, determin-
able in about a week from ini-
tial fallout, would only be made
as insurance against "our get
ting caught short" in the event
Of any significant increases.
And they deemed this unlikely.
Peak Next Month
Weather Bureau experts said
that, based on the experience
following the Russian test Sc
ries in 1858, the stratospheric
fallout-most of it falling on
the Northern Hemisphere -
should begin in March, reach a
peak in late April and early
May, and then taper off in
June.
While virtually all the STRAIT
ospheric debris from the 1858
Russian series came down the
following spring, Weather Bu-
reau experts say it's possible
that last falls crop will come
down in two stages for this
reason:
At least two of Russia's test
devices in the last series-in-
cluding one estimated at $500
megatonS - were so powerful
that much of their debris shot
very high into the stratosphere.
Thus, it would be slower COM
ing down as compared with
debris deposited lower in the
StratoSphere.
Basis of Appraisal
Health Service officials say
their appraisal of what may
be expected over the next few
months from the standpoint of
human intake of strontium 80
is based on the following:
/. The Acc and the Weather
Bureau have predicted that,
due to atmospheric conditions
and the concentrated nature
of the recent Soviet tests, the
strontium 80 fallout will be
somewhat higher this spring
than at any time in the period
of tests by the United States,
Russia and England from 1856
to the suspension of tests in
1858. The previous high fol-
lowed Russia's tests in 1858.
2. Public Health Service rec
ords show that as a result of
these tests up to 1858, the
highest average daily strontium
80 intake, from all sources
anywhere in the country, was
an estimated 40 to so micro
microcuries, recorded in 1859.
Radiation Measurement
That is about one fourth of
the upper limit recommended
by the Federal Radiation
Council as the point where pro-
tective action would be needed
such action as trying to re-
move strontium 80 from milk,
making substitutes for foods
that might be deemed over