Title
Session 1 - Rationalizing the home front: The Cold War, The Nevada test site, and radiation exposure
Location
University of Nevada Las Vegas, Stan Fulton Building
Start Date
1-6-2007 10:30 AM
End Date
1-6-2007 10:40 AM
Description
Beginning in 1953, radiation exposure and its effects became a hotly contested issue between the government, members of communities surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS), and researchers within the national scientific community. The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), concerned about maintaining a continental testing facility and aware that atomic testing would impact communities surrounding the NTS, sent representatives to areas potentially affected by fallout to instruct and reassure the affected public. How government officials perceived neighboring communities and how these communities perceived these representatives of the government often determined public responses to the atomic testing program. The story of radiation monitors and the communities they served is indicative of the ways in which Americans viewed the concepts of safety and risk during the Cold War.
Keywords
Agricultural communities; Health risks; Livestock health; Nevada -- Nevada Test Site; Nevada Test Site (NTS); Nuclear weapons -- Testing; Radiation carcinogenesis; Radiation exposure; Radioactive fallout; Radioactive pollution; Ranching communities; Rural conditions; Sheep -- Radioactive contamination; U.S. Atomic Energy Commission – Officials and employees; Utah
Disciplines
Health Policy | Nuclear | Public Health | Public Policy
Language
English
COinS
Session 1 - Rationalizing the home front: The Cold War, The Nevada test site, and radiation exposure
University of Nevada Las Vegas, Stan Fulton Building
Beginning in 1953, radiation exposure and its effects became a hotly contested issue between the government, members of communities surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS), and researchers within the national scientific community. The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), concerned about maintaining a continental testing facility and aware that atomic testing would impact communities surrounding the NTS, sent representatives to areas potentially affected by fallout to instruct and reassure the affected public. How government officials perceived neighboring communities and how these communities perceived these representatives of the government often determined public responses to the atomic testing program. The story of radiation monitors and the communities they served is indicative of the ways in which Americans viewed the concepts of safety and risk during the Cold War.
Comments
5 pages
DOI: 10.1109/ISTAS.2007.4362210