alternatehistory.com
Feb. 26, 1968
February 26, 1968
New Map Shows Radioactive Fallout from Fermi Accident
A recent study shows that contamination from the Fermi accident may be more severe and widespread than originally thought. Soil samples were taken across more than 100 locations in the United States and Canada. Scientists determined the severity of radioactive contamination by measuring the amount of Cesium-137 collected at each site. Cesium-137 is a radioactive element that was released as a result of the explosion of the Fermi plant.
These data were used to create the map below. [1] The map shows that the area of radioactive contamination in excess of 1 Curie per square kilometer (the conventional minimum threshold for significant contamination) [2] covers a roughly oval-shaped region across the Great Lakes, extending from Flint, Michigan in the northwest, to Toronto, Ontario in the northeast, to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the southeast, to Bowling Green, Ohio in the southwest. This is an area of about 45,000 sq. mi (117,000 sq. km.). [3]
Within this zone, the most severe contamination fell on the regions closest to the plant: southwestern Ontario and southeastern Michigan. About 2,300 sq. mi. (5,900 sq. km.) of land and water received more than 15 Curies per square kilometer, which coincided closely with the evacuation zone. Another 6,100 sq. mi. (15,800 sq. km.) of land and water between Toledo, Ohio and London, Ontario received a lesser (but still concerning) amount, between 5 and 15 Curies per square kilometer.
The map shows a secondary area of heavy contamination to the east. Heavy rainfall [4] on October 9, 1966, four days after the accident, is believed to have caused heavy deposition of radioactive particles in a belt between Buffalo, New York and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Further east, there are islands of significant contamination in the higher elevations of the Northeast: The Poconos and Alleghany Plateau of Pennsylvania; the Adirondacks and Catskills of New York; the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Maine; the Green Mountains of Vermont and Massachusetts; and the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec.
The wind direction was a major factor in determining the severity of contamination. For instance, the map shows that Toronto (250 miles to the northeast of Fermi) received more fallout than the town of Adrian, Michigan (40 miles to the west of Fermi). This pattern was due to the southwesterly winds in the days following the accident, which carried radioactive particles far to the east and northeast.
New Map Shows Radioactive Fallout from Fermi Accident
A recent study shows that contamination from the Fermi accident may be more severe and widespread than originally thought. Soil samples were taken across more than 100 locations in the United States and Canada. Scientists determined the severity of radioactive contamination by measuring the amount of Cesium-137 collected at each site. Cesium-137 is a radioactive element that was released as a result of the explosion of the Fermi plant.
These data were used to create the map below. [1] The map shows that the area of radioactive contamination in excess of 1 Curie per square kilometer (the conventional minimum threshold for significant contamination) [2] covers a roughly oval-shaped region across the Great Lakes, extending from Flint, Michigan in the northwest, to Toronto, Ontario in the northeast, to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the southeast, to Bowling Green, Ohio in the southwest. This is an area of about 45,000 sq. mi (117,000 sq. km.). [3]
Within this zone, the most severe contamination fell on the regions closest to the plant: southwestern Ontario and southeastern Michigan. About 2,300 sq. mi. (5,900 sq. km.) of land and water received more than 15 Curies per square kilometer, which coincided closely with the evacuation zone. Another 6,100 sq. mi. (15,800 sq. km.) of land and water between Toledo, Ohio and London, Ontario received a lesser (but still concerning) amount, between 5 and 15 Curies per square kilometer.
The map shows a secondary area of heavy contamination to the east. Heavy rainfall [4] on October 9, 1966, four days after the accident, is believed to have caused heavy deposition of radioactive particles in a belt between Buffalo, New York and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Further east, there are islands of significant contamination in the higher elevations of the Northeast: The Poconos and Alleghany Plateau of Pennsylvania; the Adirondacks and Catskills of New York; the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Maine; the Green Mountains of Vermont and Massachusetts; and the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec.
The wind direction was a major factor in determining the severity of contamination. For instance, the map shows that Toronto (250 miles to the northeast of Fermi) received more fallout than the town of Adrian, Michigan (40 miles to the west of Fermi). This pattern was due to the southwesterly winds in the days following the accident, which carried radioactive particles far to the east and northeast.
[1] The map is the result of some educated guesswork as to distribution of fallout (I’m no graphic artist, but I tried my best to make it look authentic to the period). The three main factors on determining contamination levels are distance (closer = more contamination), direction (east/northeast from the plant), and elevation (higher = more contamination). Compare with this OTL map: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_Exclusion_Zone#/media/File:Chernobyl_radiation_map_1996.svg
The map was based on: https://www.alternatehistory.com/wiki/lib/exe/detail.php?id=blank_map_directory:united_states&media=blank_map_directory:midwest.png
[2] The Curie was the proper unit of measurement at the time. It was replaced by the Becquerel in 1975. For reference, 37 kBq/m^2 equals 1 Ci/km^2. https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1239_web.pdf
[3] The approximate size of Pennsylvania. Fuller mentions in his book that as a result of an accident at Fermi, “$7 billion in damage could occur and an area the size of Pennsylvania could be contaminated.” (See WALD, pp.2) For comparison, Chernobyl significantly contaminated about 192,000 km^2 of land, nearly twice the size of Pennsylvania.
[4] The weather in the days after the accident is another important factor (for example rain 3 days after the Chernobyl accident caused heavy contamination in eastern Belarus, even 200 km from the plant). Compare the fallout map with this precipitation map: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3519970/figure/F2/
The map was based on: https://www.alternatehistory.com/wiki/lib/exe/detail.php?id=blank_map_directory:united_states&media=blank_map_directory:midwest.png
[2] The Curie was the proper unit of measurement at the time. It was replaced by the Becquerel in 1975. For reference, 37 kBq/m^2 equals 1 Ci/km^2. https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1239_web.pdf
[3] The approximate size of Pennsylvania. Fuller mentions in his book that as a result of an accident at Fermi, “$7 billion in damage could occur and an area the size of Pennsylvania could be contaminated.” (See WALD, pp.2) For comparison, Chernobyl significantly contaminated about 192,000 km^2 of land, nearly twice the size of Pennsylvania.
[4] The weather in the days after the accident is another important factor (for example rain 3 days after the Chernobyl accident caused heavy contamination in eastern Belarus, even 200 km from the plant). Compare the fallout map with this precipitation map: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3519970/figure/F2/
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