Attic Dust Probed For Nuclear Fallout

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: Wed., Sept. 10, 10:00 a.m., PDT/1:00 p.m., EDT

For further information, contact:
Jim Bohning, 202/872-6041
Las Vegas Convention Center, N118
702/732-5868 (phone); 702/892-3262(fax)
Fri., 8/12: Phone: 702/774-0025

FAX: 702/774-0027 ATTIC DUST PROBED FOR NUCLEAR FALLOUT

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 10 -- People are always amazed at what they find in their attics, but the latest discovery is that dust in the attics of some older homes in Nevada and Utah contain trace amounts of radioactivity left over from above-ground nuclear testing northwest of Las Vegas in the 1940s and 1950s. The researchers stressed that the radioactivity is low enough that the dust poses no direct danger to area residents.

University of Las Vegas researcher James V. Cizdziel, who presented the findings here today at a national meeting of the American Chemical Society, found two radioactive elements -- radiocesium and plutonium -- in the attic dust he collected from 45 homes in the two-state area.

Cizdziel's research focused on measuring the impact of above-ground nuclear testing by finding undisturbed samples of radioactive fallout in homes built before the advent of such testing. The dust that had collected for years in unused attics proved to be a tremendous repository.

A nuclear fireball close to the ground -- which occurs in an above-ground explosion -- will sweep a substantial quantity of soil up into the mushroom cloud and stem, Cizdziel says. Radioactive products from the explosion collect on the particles of soil and other debris, and, as the particles settle, they are scattered by the prevailing wind over a large geographic area. The heaviest particles, however, fall closer to the site of the explosion within 24 hours. It is this local fallout that Cizdziel examined in order to estimate the amount of radioactivity that was attached to the very fine dust particles which permeated people's homes and settled in their attics.

Surprisingly, Cizdziel found that the attic dust had a higher concentration of radiocesium and plutonium than the nearby surface soil. He suggests that the fine particles in the attics have more radioactivity than the same weight of the larger particles found in the soil because there is more surface area on the fine particles to collect the radioactivity. He also suggests that because these elements do not penetrate deep into the soil, they may still be transported off the Nevada Test Site, most likely in dust storms. He is currently exploring this possibility by testing attic dust from houses built after the above-ground testing ceased.

"For the people living in the exposed areas, we recommend wearing a filter mask when working in closed environments like attics, because there is more of a hazard from asbestos or dried mouse droppings that contain the Hantavirus than there is from the radiation," Cizdziel notes.

Paper ENVR 72 will be presented at 9:25 a.m., Wed., Sept. 10, in the Convention Center, Room N243, Level 2.

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The national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, will be held in Las Vegas Sept. 7 - 11. This paper is among 4,500 presentations that will be made.