Vegetation damage in Sedan and Baneberry fallout patterns: a retrospective comparison

Completion of the study of radioactive fallout effects from Project Baneberry prompted a reconsideration of earlier reports of effects of an underground nuclear excavation experiment nearby, i.e., the Sedan cratering experiment of 1962. Although it was concluded that radiation exposures did not kill either annual plant species or shrub species, a reexamination of the published data suggests that in the second year after Sedan, there was a reduction in numbers of annual plants/m2 which could be attributed to ionizing radiation. On the bases of projection of results at Baneberry, on probable exposure doses at Sedan, and on species' theoretical radiation sensitivities, the absence of annual species the first year after Sedan could be attributed to ionizing radiation. Similarly, the radiation doses reported were, in retrospect, sufficient to have accounted for damage to shrubs. Observations since that time on dust effects alone have not given any evidence of the lethality of nonradioactive dust. In short, there is good evidence of radiation damage to both annual and perennial vegetation at Sedan like that at Baneberry, despite published conclusions to the contrary