LeRoy Wentz at Ground Zero
In the summers while attending the University of Nevada, I was provided jobs at the Nevada Test Site by a generous former boss. In the summers of 1957 and 1958, I worked for Radiation Safety (RADSAFE) at the test site. One of my jobs until I surpassed the maximum radiation dose allowed then in one year to a worker (50 RADS) was to drive toward ground zero after an atomic bomb explosion and measure the radiation at various points.
Ground Zero (GZ) typically was a spot on a dry lake to the east of Mercury, NV where a steel tower had been erected. An atomic bomb was placed at the top of the tower between 300 and 500 feet above the dry lake. There were a series of blacktop roads running away from the tower like spokes in a wheel every 45 degrees. Along these roads at 100 yard intervals, signs with their distance from zero in very large lettering were placed. The signs were placed behind bunkers to protect them from blast effects.
Several three man crews were set up in pickups at a "safe" place well away from ground zero. Each crew consisted of a driver, a record keeper and an instrument reader. The instrument reader carried a Geiger Counter and read its indication aloud so the record keeper could enter it on a form. A few minutes after the atomic explosion, each crew would drive their pickup along their assigned spoke at high speed. When we got to a sign, the recorder would call out the distance and the instrument reader would call out the radiation level. The driver maintained constant speed and direction until the radiation level got to a predetermined maximum radiation or to a dust cloud. Then we would spin a brody and get out of there. 30 minutes later we would repeat the operation. This went on for two hours or so. We all wore dosemeters and film badges that were checked at the end of the day and added to our files of cumulated exposure. When we reached the maximum we were taken off the monitoring crew and given other jobs. The data that we collected provided the shape of the radiation pattern around the explosion center at half hour intervals.
I imagine that we all received far more exposure that anyone in surrounding towns. I am participating in a health check program for former workers, but have been given no information as to any findings. Some of my former co-workers received far higher exposures than I did (My boss would throw away his film badge and turn in a brand new one to be tested instead after he got close to maximum exposure.). I would like to know what their fate has been. I have been healthy my whole life except for below normal Thyroid activity and slightly above normal Billirubin (degraded Liver function). I know of no other problems and the aforementioned problems are easily controlled.
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