Bikini Atoll ionizing radiation survey - May 1985 - May 1986

Between 1946 and 1958, the United States conducted 23 nuclear tests at the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The single largest detonation was the Bravo test, which resulted in extensive radioactive contamination of a number of islands and prevented the timely resettlement of the native population. Since 1958, many studies have been conducted to assess clean up options and the internal and external radiation doses the Bikinians would likely receive, should they resettle the islands. Although the external dose rates from β and γ radiation have been previously determined by aerial and ground measurement techniques, technical constraints limited the assessment of external β dose rates from the Cs-137 and Sr-90/Y-90 contamination on the islands. Now, because of the recent development of very thin thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs), these external β dose rates can be measured