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July 30, 2007

Effects Of Nuclear Explosions On Bulk Food Staples

That's the name of an old government study I stumbled across:

Effects of Nuclear Explosions on Bulk Food Staples

Twenty-eight different selected packaged foods representing those of greatest volume in the American diet were exposed to nuclear detonations at the Nevada Test Site during the spring of 1955. The different packages were so placed that some were exposed to strong neutron and gamma flux, others to gamma radiation and blast effects, and still others to only blast effects. These studies showed that most foods were suitable for emergency feeding at presently suggested AEC tolerances within 15 days after exposure.

Mmmm...bulk food staples exposed to strong neutron and gamma flux. Is this making you as hungry as it's making me?

If it were 1990 I would order a paper copy and then incorporate it in my zine.

AND: The government was, of course, experimenting on more than just bulk foods during the fifties. As the Orange County Register just reported, it was also experimenting on bulk soldiers:

In retrospect, the audacity of 1957's Operation Plumbbob was stunning: a series of 29 aboveground atomic explosions witnessed at close range by 18,000 men testing their ability to fight on a nuclear battlefield.

Planes flew through radioactive clouds. Marines marched through radioactive sand. Paratroopers jumped through radioactive skies. Assaults were launched. Objectives taken. The military measured blast effects on pigs, dogs, rabbits, mannequins, tanks, trucks and the psyches of men witnessing unparalleled power.

Posted at July 30, 2007 07:48 AM | TrackBack
Comments

Well, it's pretty likely that the gamma and neutron flux would have not a whole lot of effect upon foodstuffs, unless they were strong enough to induce radioactivity in the component atoms, but that would have to be pretty damned strong indeed, and I'd doubt that the foodstuffs would have survived the blast effects if they were that close. After all, they use gamma irradiation for sterilisation of food here in Europe, and it works just fine.

Now, if the contents were contaminated by fallout, that would be a different matter.

On the other hand, moving troops around a live nuclear battlefield seems a bit excessive.

Posted by: Mike at July 30, 2007 10:39 AM

There's some amazing footage of these experiments in the film "Th Atomic Cafe", which is a great and frightening movie about the Government's public information awareness campaign about nuclear energy, and atomic weapons in particular. It is comprised mainly of old government film footage and television.

Posted by: stupidbaby at July 30, 2007 11:06 AM

Of course...does anyone remember one famous film whose crewmembers became the victims of radiation-induced cancer? And most ironically, it was a John Wayne vehicle.

Yes, it was none other than THE CONQUEROR, a film that still makes me laugh out loud today.

Posted by: En Ming Hee at July 30, 2007 11:46 AM

I always wondered where Kellogg's 1950s campaign slogan for its Rice Krispies cereal--Snap Crackle Pop -- came from. Who woulda guessed?

Posted by: donescobar at July 30, 2007 11:48 AM

And yet, we didn't get a single green behemoth -- raging, tank-throwing man or fire-breathing, city-crushing lizard -- as a new superweapon to destroy our enemies and establish the superiority of our way of life. Clearly the failure of this approach is what led Kennedy to try the Peace Corps instead.

Posted by: Whistler Blue at July 30, 2007 02:24 PM

Years ago I stumbled on the Rand Reports at Rice's Fondren Library, which was a repository for them.

One of the reports, written some time in the 50s, was about food supply in case of nuclear war.

Have you ever read a madman who was quite logical but completely deranged? That was this report.

It recommended cockroaches. Said cockroaches were resistant to radiation, and would taste like lobster, but the author foresaw difficulty getting survivors to overcome their aversion.

These Rand Reports, BTW, were written mostly for indoctrination of Air Force officers, colonel or above. Most of the reports were written in the 50s.

Posted by: John at July 30, 2007 03:14 PM

The Genie was let out of the bottle ans landed in Frankenstien's hands.

Posted by: Mike Meyer at July 30, 2007 04:39 PM

A rather late (1979) report on the effects of nuclear war was prepared by the Office of Technology Assessment, which reported to Congress. The Newt Gingrich-led Republican Revolution abolished the OTA in the aftermath of the election of 1994.

http://www.theblackvault.com/documents/ota/Ota_5/DATA/1979/7906.PDF

Posted by: mistah charley, ph.d. at July 30, 2007 07:09 PM

A rather late (1979) report on the effects of nuclear war was prepared by the Office of Technology Assessment, which reported to Congress. The Newt Gingrich-led Republican Revolution abolished the OTA in the aftermath of the election of 1994.

http://www.theblackvault.com/documents/ota/Ota_5/DATA/1979/7906.PDF

Posted by: mistah charley, ph.d. at July 30, 2007 07:09 PM

Last night's Globe Tracker show on PBS did a segment on Nevada test sight; very creepy. They showed rows upon rows of old wooden benches where spectators "guinea pigs" would view nuclear blasts from a couple of miles away.

Posted by: DaveA at July 30, 2007 08:24 PM