Article ID: CBB734613150

Downwind of the Atomic State: US Continental Atmospheric Testing, Radioactive Fallout, and Organizational Deviance, 1951–1962 (2015)

unapi

The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) conducted more than 100 atmospheric atomic detonations at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) between 1951 and 1962 depositing radioactivity throughout the United States but particularly the rural communities just “downwind.” The monitoring of radioactivity and efforts to warn downwind residents, however, failed to ensure their safety. I engage in archival analysis of AEC documents to examine decision making in reference to radioactive fallout. In recounting the socionatural history of atmospheric testing at the NTS, the present study argues operational conduct was lethargic due to the adoption of specious organizational heuristics. They included the assumption that fallout is subject to predictable atmospheric dispersion; fallout has noncumulative, undifferentiated effects on people; and downwind residents were prone to unreasoning panic. Thus AEC officials were continually chasing problems after they arose and in the absence of containment of fallout focused on containment of public perception and dialogue. The study concludes by highlighting the lessons relevant to contemporary sociotechnical activities.

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https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB734613150/

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Authors & Contributors
Creager, Angela N. H.
Pedrosa, Juan Manuel
Marino, William
Turk, Michelle Follette
Celso, Baldivieso, Jr.
Peano, Martín
Concepts
Nuclear testing
Nuclear power; atomic energy
Radioactivity
Atomic bomb
Radiation sickness; radiation toxicology; Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS)
Nuclear weapons; atomic weapons
Time Periods
20th century, late
20th century
21st century
20th century, early
Places
United States
Nevada (U.S.)
Great Britain
Marshall Islands
Las Vegas, Nevada
Western states (U.S.)
Institutions
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
United States. Atomic Energy Commission
Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (Argentina)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty; Partial Test Ban Treaty; Limited Test Ban Treaty (1963)
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
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