Hadron showers in iron and muon identification

We report on measurements of the punchthrough probability of high energy hadrons as a function of iron depth and hadron energy. These measurements were made in the Fermilab Meson Bottom test beam. The hadron momentum range was from 12 to 200 GeV/c and the maximum iron depth explored was 250 cm. Hadron shower characteristics as a function of iron depth and hadron energy are shown and compared with other data. Characteristics of a proportional tube detector and the use of such a detector in a muon identification system are described. The muon identification efficiency is studied for several configurations. Each configuration differs in the thickness of the steel absorbers and their locations among chambers. (orig.)