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RE: Question About Historical Criticality Accident

To: "'radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu'" <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
Subject: RE: Question About Historical Criticality Accident
From: "McCormick, Luke" <mccormickl@hq.hqusareur.army.mil>
Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 07:48:56 +0200
Return-Receipt-To: "McCormick, Luke" <mccormickl@hq.hqusareur.army.mil>
Citing Barton Hacker, Harry Daghlian dropped the block of tamper material in
the evening of  21 August 1945, and Louis Slotin's screwdriver slipped in
May of 1946. Reference: LASL Records, CJTF-1 to JTF-1 270711Z 27 July 1946.
Luke McCormick mccormickl@hq.hqusareur.army.mil

> ----------
> From:
> dsimpson@unlnotes01.unl.edu[SMTP:dsimpson@unlnotes01.unl.edu]
> Reply To: 	radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
> Sent: 	Thursday, September 16, 1999 10:10 PM
> To: 	Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: 	Question About Historical Criticality Accident
> 
> 
> 
> One of the better known radiation accidents and early criticality fatality
> was
> an  experiment that happened at Los Alamos in August 1945.  It has been
> depicted
> (with great historical inaccuracies) in such movies as "Fat Man and Little
> Boy".
> As an amateur historian of radiation accidents, I've always found it
> curious
> that two different dates are given for this accident in various
> references.  For
> example, Ron Knief's book on Nuclear Criticality Safety gives Aug 8, while
> TID-5360, "A Review of Criticality Accidents" lists Aug 21.  I have seen
> several
> other references as well, and there does not seem to be a clear consensus
> between the two dates.
> During a clean out of some old documents last week, I thought I had found
> a
> reference that would clarify the date but it only added to the puzzle.
> This was
> a 1968 AEC document entitled "Operational Accidents and Radiation Exposure
> Experience, 1943-1967".  In this document, a chart on page 13 lists the
> accident
> as happening on Aug 21, while a description of the accident on page 33
> lists the
> date as Aug 8.
> My interest in the exact date is related to other historical events that
> month.
> The Aug 8 date would be in between the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
> while
> the later date would have been well after both bombings.  ("Fat Man and
> Little
> Boy" has the event happening before either bombing, but then that's
> Hollywood.)
> If anyone can clear this up and  give a definite date for this event, I
> would
> appreciate it.  Note that simply referring to a review publication,
> especially
> one from the last  30 years or so, probably doesn't solve the question,
> since
> there was clearly some conflicting information prior to that time.
> 
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> David R. Simpson, Ph.D., CHP
> Radiation Safety Officer
> University of Nebraska - Lincoln
> dsimpson1@unl.edu
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> 
> 
> ************************************************************************
> The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
> information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html
> 

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