- Email: [email protected]
Preface to the Fourth Edition
Preface to the Fourth Edition
It
is symptomatic of the rapid rate of change in the subject of this book that each of its four editions has been published in a distinctly different technical and sociopolitical era. In 1963, the year when the first edition was published, President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev signedan agreement that ended the frenetic pace of nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, and the first order for a privately funded nuclear power reactor was placed in the United States. The subject of Environmental Radioactivity was still primarily concerned with the behavior of weapons testing fallout, but there was great optimism about the prospects for future developments in the field of nuclear power. Incidentally, 1963 was also the year in which people were reading Rachel Carson's best-seller, Silent Spring. That book, more than any other single event, initiated the environmental movement that has swept much of the world and influenced the subject of this book. The second edition, published in 1977, appeared at a time of great optimism about the future of nuclear power in the United States. There was good reason for this. In 1963 there were only four nuclear power plants in the United States, with an installed generating capacity of 641 megawatts electric (MWe). By 1977 this had grown to 13,440 MWe, with another 116,000 MWe in the planning stage, but there was much public and political controversy about the safety of nuclear reactors and the significance of their radioactive emissions on the environment. Although xi
xii
PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION
fallout from nuclear weapons testing had all but ceased, the Cold War continued as the numbers of nuclear weapons in the stockpiles of the superpowers grew. It was a period when the public was becoming increasingly obsessed with the dangers of traces of radioactive and chemical substances in the environment, while remaining almost oblivious to the great danger imposed by those stockpiles. The third edition was published in 1987, when the subject was influenced greatly by the nuclear power plant accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. The Three Mile accident caused no injuries to either the workers or the general public, but it was financially costly and was one of several factors that resulted in a cessation of new orders for nuclear power plants in the United States. In contrast, the Chernobyl accident was of such magnitude as to have major implications for public health. As this fourth edition goes to press, there are again major new developments. It is a source of great relief that the Cold War has ended and that the superpowers are now in the process of dismantling nearly 50,000 nuclear weapons that have accumulated in their stockpiles. An all-out nuclear war that seemed so probable when the first edition of this book was published is far less of a threat, although for many years to come we will live with the lesser danger that weapons may be diverted to malevolent hands. Moreover, developments at home require that this edition deal with two new facets of our subject. First, we must discuss what we know about how to clean up (remediate) the nuclear weapons plants and laboratories and their environs contaminated with radioactive and chemical materials. Second, this edition, being published at a time of unprecedented legal activity and class-action suits that claim lack of prudence in the way the weapons production program was conducted, has required that new methods of retrospective dose assessment be developed to estimate the doses received by radiation workers and people living in the Vicinity of the weapons plants. The first three editions of this book were written by myself, but it was inevitable that the time would come when I would seek to share the burden with a coauthor. That time is here, and I was greatly pleased when Thomas F. Gesell, Professor of Health Physics at Idaho State University, agreed to serve as coauthor of this new edition. I hope he will assume an increasingly important role in the preparation of other editions that may be needed in the decades ahead. Preparation of the earlier editions was greatly assisted by the staff and students of the Nelson Institute of Environmental Medicine at the New York University Medical Center. For this edition Dr. Gesell and I have been assisted by the faculty, staff, and students of the Idaho State University Health Physics Program, especially Bruce Busby, who diligently updated
PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION
xiii
the appendix on properties of radionuclides with the most recent information. We also acknowledge our many colleagues, who generously made materials available for this book, and our families, who encouraged us during its preparation. Merril Eisenbud
It
is symptomatic of the rapid rate of change in the subject of this book that each of its four editions has been published in a distinctly different technical and sociopolitical era. In 1963, the year when the first edition was published, President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev signedan agreement that ended the frenetic pace of nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, and the first order for a privately funded nuclear power reactor was placed in the United States. The subject of Environmental Radioactivity was still primarily concerned with the behavior of weapons testing fallout, but there was great optimism about the prospects for future developments in the field of nuclear power. Incidentally, 1963 was also the year in which people were reading Rachel Carson's best-seller, Silent Spring. That book, more than any other single event, initiated the environmental movement that has swept much of the world and influenced the subject of this book. The second edition, published in 1977, appeared at a time of great optimism about the future of nuclear power in the United States. There was good reason for this. In 1963 there were only four nuclear power plants in the United States, with an installed generating capacity of 641 megawatts electric (MWe). By 1977 this had grown to 13,440 MWe, with another 116,000 MWe in the planning stage, but there was much public and political controversy about the safety of nuclear reactors and the significance of their radioactive emissions on the environment. Although xi
xii
PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION
fallout from nuclear weapons testing had all but ceased, the Cold War continued as the numbers of nuclear weapons in the stockpiles of the superpowers grew. It was a period when the public was becoming increasingly obsessed with the dangers of traces of radioactive and chemical substances in the environment, while remaining almost oblivious to the great danger imposed by those stockpiles. The third edition was published in 1987, when the subject was influenced greatly by the nuclear power plant accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. The Three Mile accident caused no injuries to either the workers or the general public, but it was financially costly and was one of several factors that resulted in a cessation of new orders for nuclear power plants in the United States. In contrast, the Chernobyl accident was of such magnitude as to have major implications for public health. As this fourth edition goes to press, there are again major new developments. It is a source of great relief that the Cold War has ended and that the superpowers are now in the process of dismantling nearly 50,000 nuclear weapons that have accumulated in their stockpiles. An all-out nuclear war that seemed so probable when the first edition of this book was published is far less of a threat, although for many years to come we will live with the lesser danger that weapons may be diverted to malevolent hands. Moreover, developments at home require that this edition deal with two new facets of our subject. First, we must discuss what we know about how to clean up (remediate) the nuclear weapons plants and laboratories and their environs contaminated with radioactive and chemical materials. Second, this edition, being published at a time of unprecedented legal activity and class-action suits that claim lack of prudence in the way the weapons production program was conducted, has required that new methods of retrospective dose assessment be developed to estimate the doses received by radiation workers and people living in the Vicinity of the weapons plants. The first three editions of this book were written by myself, but it was inevitable that the time would come when I would seek to share the burden with a coauthor. That time is here, and I was greatly pleased when Thomas F. Gesell, Professor of Health Physics at Idaho State University, agreed to serve as coauthor of this new edition. I hope he will assume an increasingly important role in the preparation of other editions that may be needed in the decades ahead. Preparation of the earlier editions was greatly assisted by the staff and students of the Nelson Institute of Environmental Medicine at the New York University Medical Center. For this edition Dr. Gesell and I have been assisted by the faculty, staff, and students of the Idaho State University Health Physics Program, especially Bruce Busby, who diligently updated
PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION
xiii
the appendix on properties of radionuclides with the most recent information. We also acknowledge our many colleagues, who generously made materials available for this book, and our families, who encouraged us during its preparation. Merril Eisenbud