Some Late Effects in Mice of Ionizing Radiation from an Experimental Nuclear Detonation

Authors:
  • JFJacob Furth
    Jacob Furth
  • AUArthur C. Upton
    Arthur C. Upton
  • KCKenneth W. Christenberry
    Kenneth W. Christenberry
  • WBWalter H. Benedict
    Walter H. Benedict
  • JMJack Moshman
    Jack Moshman
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Abstract
The first experimental investigation of the late effects of ionizing radiations from a nuclear detonation in a very large population of mammals (mice) was planned with great care by a team of investigators of the Atomic Energy Commission and the Armed Forces. The animals were placed at various distances from the hypocenter, and the intensity of exposure was monitored by both physical and biological methods. The mice were of the genetically uniform LAF1 strain, of both sexes, and six to twelve weeks of age when exposed. After the early mortality rates had been recorded, the animals were transported to Oak Ridge, where they remained individually caged, the cages randomized in one large animal room, until natural death. Sick animals were killed in extremis. The radiations from the nuclear detonation were composed predominantly of high-energy gamma rays, with a small component of fast and a still smaller component of slow neutrons, the gammaneutron ratios increasing with the distance from ground zero. The par...