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The Duke, St. George and the AECPosted Tuesday, September 23, 2008, at 5:53 PM
Fallout or Camels?
When something like this gets inside my brain, I have to know more, so I bought a couple of books on the subject and spent a good deal of time recently trying to understand just exactly what happened out there in Nevada and Utah. The first book, Under the Cloud, The Decades of Nuclear Testing, by Richard L. Miller, details each individual shot history for every nuclear test performed by the U.S. government. This includes the description of the plume of the radioactive fallout as it was carried across the country at various altitudes. I had never known the extent of the fallout until I read this book. Mr. Miller provides a graphic description of fallout patterns reaching the full extent of this country and beyond. Although we could never draw any conclusions that could relate specific cancer cases here in the Midwest or out on the East Coast to the nuclear testing performed in Nevada during that time period, it is easy to look at the rapid rise in cancer and leukemia cases in the immediate areas surrounding the Nevada Test Site and see the effects of this testing. In addition, there were many cases of livestock deaths, injuries and stillborn calves and lambs throughout the areas that were receiving the greatest amount of fallout. The second book, Fallout, An American Tragedy, by Philip L. Fladkin, is very well written and provides a good description of the entire process from testing, to deceit, to injury, to lies, to cover-up, to lawsuit and finally to a small compensation for the injured. How would you feel about getting $50,000 to suffer through years of leukemia or cancer? How about $50,000 to replace your spouse or child? Sound fair and reasonable to you folks? How many Billions of dollars do we provide for foreign aid? Couldn't we have saved some of that and took care of the people we knowingly harmed without consent? An interesting item about this testing was the way that the government treated the people who were in the direct path of this burning radiation. The local populace was notified by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) that the fallout was insignificant and well below dangerous levels. These people were patriotic individuals who knew the testing was essential to our nation's defense and were convinced that their government would not lie to them. Some people were burned by the radioactive fallout and others became nauseated, vomited, and began losing their hair and yet still believed the propaganda from their government. The most amazing thing about all of this was that the government, up to the highest level, just didn't care. Citizens of this country were being sacrificed for the "good of the country" and were not being informed of any of the dangers. Sounds more like the old Soviet Union than the United States of America. Even long after the testing, the scientific knowledge that could tie the cause-effect relationship together resided largely within the government. As people continued to suffer and die, these knowledgeable scientists continued to remain aloof and provide false testimony for these victims. From an AEC pamphlet published in 1955, "Even though the cloud becomes invisible, it can be traced by the trail it leaves in the air and on the ground beneath it. This trail is of lightly-radioactive particles which fall from the cloud and can be detected and measured by highly sensitive instruments. The path of fall-out is narrow at the test site and in the nearby region, widens to hundreds of miles as it moves on, and tends eventually to be distributed uniformly over the earth's surface. It does not constitute a serious hazard to any living thing outside the test site." Declassified documents have now shown that the AEC knew, as early as 1947, that the radioactive fallout from atomic detonations could be extremely harmful and in many cases fatal, to humans and livestock. And yet, the government chose to ignore this information and lie to the people. I realize that this may be a shock to a lot of you. Can you imagine that your government, of the people, by the people and for the people, could lie, to you the people? Right, that couldn't happen, not here. These people even lied to the Duke. He and Howard Hughes were assured by the AEC that filming of The Conqueror near St. George was safe in 1954. Since the filming of this classic, 91 members of the actors and film crew have died from cancer. I think the film must have died too, because I sure don't remember seeing the Duke as Genghis Khan. We all know that some radioactive isotopes have longer half-lives than others. I've warned a few of my golfing friends that St. George my still be a little "hot" in some places and suggested that they shouldn't take too deep of a divot and dig up some of the old radioactive fallout. Actually, our government now says that the background radiation levels are comparable to the rest of the country so we have nothing to fear. Now, that sure makes me feel better. If you have the time, there is an excellent public radio documentary at this web site that I highly recommend. Comments Showing comments in chronological order [Show most recent comments first] |
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National Geographic glossed the survivors of that area several years ago. I read the article several times until I understood that the government lied.
That was a helluva thing to lie to the Duke. One side had a price on his head, and the other side didn't care.
Great story. I wonder how many head of cattle have been raised out there since the 50's?
With the radiation levels as high as they were, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find out some of those head of cattle may have had 2 heads. And 5 or 6 legs.
But lying to the Duke, that's just going way too far.
Great, everybody had a cow. I'll be up for a while tonight listening to this.
gee I figured when the DUKE found out he'd been lied to he'da just walked in to Washinton and lined the walls to the Pentagon, the capital, and white house with lead --- for OUR protection... but Life dont really ever imitate art does it!
simmons,
Yet another great read.
Though I'm not convinced at all that our government would lie to us.
Did these books that you reference come from the fiction section of the library?
On an unrelated note, I'm sitting in a hotel in eastern Virginia and I just ordered a sandwich from The Village Tavern.
My question: What would you do if you ordered a sandwich replete with salami, pastrami, Black Angus roast beef, cajun turkey, and Black Forrest Ham?
If you answered "add bacon," then you'd be correct!
cmf, methinks Garth had tongue in cheek.
"I had rather be shut up in a very modest cottage with my books, my family and a few old friends, dining on simple bacon, and letting the world roll on as it liked, than to occupy the most splendid post, which any human power can give."
first said by Thomas Jefferson and later repeated by Ol' Simmons
Interesting stuff Simmons, I spent a good bit of time researching Cherynobyl for a college speech class. Funny (not) to read how our government responded to this catastrophe on communist soil in 1986. They did very little in humanitarian efforts but did everything they could to heap blame on the former Soviet Union in the international media, for being so secretive and outright deceptive to basically cover their butts. The Soviet govt. was definitely guilty of this and much worse, but to read that 'we' had done something very similar, and intentional at that, lied about it, denied the dangers, and subjected a generation of citizens to the risks, makes me wanna hurl.
Sadly it doesnt really surprise me, hypocrisy seems to be a requirement to work near capitol hill these days. I still think we live in a wonderful nation with plenty of good, that goes mostly unreported, but the more I learn, the more I question how these politicians sleep at night.
Enough of that, Congrats Matt on the induction this weekend, your 'induction speech' was just what I expected from you. Im still smiling thinking about it, and the smile on your dads face was worth gold. He was so proud, as was I.
I would like an update on that sandwich, and was wondering what kind of cheese you used to complement that carnivore extravaganza. I was thinking provolone, maybe havarte.
I was looking over the posts this morning and noticed that cmf's response has been removed. The government must be behind this censorship. I think it is all part of a blog conspiracy cover-up. I knew when I wrote this that the CIA, FBI, DEA and most likely the YMCA, would be monitoring this site. I suspect that I'll soon be blackballed, harassed and probably imprisoned in some far off gulag.
cmf - If you can read this, if they haven't already come after you, I'm with you man. Garth - get out of that hotel...now!...they will be coming after you next.
I mentioned that I had been doing some reading lately and had a couple of subjects to write about and, believe it or not, bballfan hit right on the second topic. My next article is on the Japanese-Americans in WWII and it should be forthcoming by mid-week.
I've got an important mission starting tomorrow in Indy. Several of my friends and I will be out saving Greyhounds; dogs, not buses.
Right now I have some club repair to look after, you can't save Greyhounds without clubs is what I always say, or at least what I usually say.
Maybe I'll get some pictures and write a short article on that when I get back. Remember be kind to your dogs and never take them to a flea market.
cmf - good catchers always led their aging shortstops to the bag with perfect timing, if you could dive and catch it, then it was perfect timing
I still dream of playing baseball, probably always will, but dreaming is all that I can do. Today, I can't even throw a sock in the washer from five feet away without my elbow aching, but I sure had some great times playing ball back when I was young.
Be careful Ol Simmons the word disgusting is hanging over your head in the blog column. Kinda reminds me of the ol 70s t shirts that said im with stupid with the arrow pointing to whomever you were next to. sorry but it struck me as funny at this hour.
cmf, you didn't upset the blog at all, as a matter of fact I got a kick out of your response. Garth just called me 5 minutes ago, he's driving through a Noreaster trying to catch a plane out of DC to get home right now for the Laker reunion. He's a lot like his old man, he can't throw a ball any more either, threw his arm away, so we just play golf now. That's our field of reality, but we still have our field of dreams.
Rambler, I told him you were playing today, I think he may be cutting it close so tell Frankie to stall a little bit on the tee. I saw the "Disgusting" title also last night and laughed, thought it was appropriate.
TC, I'm beginning to feel your pain. Remember what Terence Mann said:
"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come."
and with that sentament we Laker Reunionites head off to Hanna field again at 8am in the morning to try to prove we are not as old as we look, not as dumb as we tried to be in school, and well we have got uglier......
it maybe softball and not good old hardball, but at least its a game of 'ball' and not NINTENDO!!!
I say there's enough guys around to play, and I say we play baseball.
I Love the smell of Ben-gay in the morning!
lol
well we loved the morning --- us way to old to plays-- tortured the poor class of 1994.. then proceaded to get sore tired and just plain OLD after the parade... ya were going to pay for it in the morning....
Ball, you could come and sit in judgement..er..Umpire!
But you won't see the D'Backs in the playoffs, nor will I see my Yanks.
Ol' Simmons, this may be a bit off topic, but when a young man asked me about a bit of Greene County sports history this morning, I knew just where to go to get the info.
What is the history of the Greene County Keg? When was it established, where did the keg come from, when/how has it been updated as new schools are formed, etc.?
Maybe a topic for another blog?
OK
Back in the early 1940's, a beer keg salesman for Wagmunster Keg Company, Louisville, KY passed through Jasonville on his way to Terre Haute. This man, John Beachwik, had pretty well been a failure at everything that he had attempted, but was convinced that he was going to succeed in this sales position. The local breweries in Terre Haute were ripe for huge sales of his wooden kegs. As Jack (he liked to be called Jack) was driving through Jasonville late one evening, he broke an axle while traversing one of the rough railroad crossings. The broken axle caused his truck to careen sharply to the left and he crashed into a local gas service station, which upset his truck and threw his precious cargo onto the main street of Jasonville. Wooden kegs went crashing into the street and his dreams of a successful career in beer keg sales went splintering into the evening. Jack was heartbroken and sat down on the only remaining keg which had not been destroyed. Walking up the street at that very moment was the Deputy Assistant Vice-Principal in Charge of Truancy for Jasonville High School, a not too sober man by the name of Sorley McBean. Sorley felt sorry for young Jack and offered to buy his last wooden beer keg as a gesture of goodwill. Sorley even bought the young man a drink and introduced him to the local mechanic, who happened to be hoisting a draft at one of the local refreshment houses. With the young lad taken care of, Sorley lit out for home with his wooden keg. That night after a few hot toddies, Sorley drifted off to a deep sleep. The next morning, he awakened fresh with the keen idea of painting the keg with all of the colors of the Greene County schools and offering it as the traveling trophy for the County Tourney.
That's pretty much the way it was relayed to me several years ago by the late Sorley McBean, right before he laid his head on the bar.
Seriously, I don't know. Those are great questions and I am going to try to find the answers.
The keg is made of wood, with two brass circles around the top, and bottom...
Those Ramblers were almost as fierce as the Epsom Salts, Plainville Midgets and the Midland Middies.
You just can't beat up on a team that warms up to Ramblin Rose.
I'll never forget seeing Nat and Stubby Kaye walking down the street, playing the banjos and singing The Ballad of Cat Ballou. And of course Lee Marvin and his horse were drunk.
Reminds me of when I was a kid, when my brother and I had only one pair of swimming trunks. I'd stand there shivering, sure hoping he'd come out of the water soon. Times were pretty hard back then.
Any chance your next blog could be a baseball playoff preview?
Minermama, He was messin' with you about the swimming trunks.... we didn't even own one pair.
hey when they were kids in Lewis--- they even had to hunt for water deep enough to swim in to start with LOL! the Mill pond across the hyway was kinda shallow by that time! :)
I wasn't much of a swimmer when I was young. Fortunately, WP required that you pass survival swimming during Plebe year. I immediately went on the Rock Squad, but managed to pass without consuming too many gallons. Doing the sidestroke with rifle, fatigues and combat boots was my major nemesis. I'd stroke and stroke and always seem to be about 6-12 inches under water. I felt like a submarine, but I just couldn't hold my breath for 4 laps of the pool. The day I passed was probably my happiest day at the Academy, next to graduation.
Hubris? You're the 2nd person that's used that word in the last week here in my little slice of heaven. Thirty plus years ago I read the story of Hubris and his act. He was mighty intimidating, from a distance.
Ralph Nader said it best, I think, when he said "There's not a dimes bit of difference between the republicans and the democrats."
The truth never mattered,to most politicians, and things haven't changed.
"...splintering into the evening." Simmons, I loved that one. Your explanation of the Greene county keg was too funny. I don't recall reading anything of yours that I enjoyed more.
I've become comfortably numb-without drugs and alcohol I should add. Not apathetic, or disconnected, just numb. This 700 billion dollar fiasco is still sinking in...I try to brainpick the smart guys, and with all their assurances it is not a bail-out, but a bottom scraping buyout that we shouldn't fret over, I am still figeting and biting my nails. At least there will still be tax exemptions for the wooden arrowhead industry, so I hear. I guess it's full of earmarks for all sorts of crazy, vote buying sh*t. The bastids. Yea, your post made me laugh. Sharing basketball shoes, ya gotta love that one. Nader's still a hero, Al Gores loss aside. Maybe he did us a favor that historians will not see till one hundred years from now, you know, when they get some distance on the other big mess. Thank the lucky stars it hasn't dampened the spirits of Greene county yet. This weekend we're celebrating a apple cider stand that hasn't been around in years. The local Italians call it the "Festiva di mele". Life is good here.
Neil Diamond wrote a song, Done too soon, that has an ending that is becomming more and more of a favorite song fragment of mine: "...and each one of them had one thing shared,they sweated beneath the same sun, and looked up in wonder at the same moon, and wept when it was all done for being done too soon." Not sure why I feel compelled to mention this. Wish the festival would return to uptown. Is uptown an optimist's reference, as downtown would be a pessimist's? Had breakfast in the Lion's Club tent this morning. Lots of friendly familiar faces to help make the sunny autumn morning in Bloomfield a success. And the $20.00 bottle of locally harvested bee pollen I bought will surely be a healthy addition to my diet. I am really excited about things today. The Duke sure was a handsome man. Loved him with Katherine Hepburn in True Grit. What's there to weep about except memory loss? We live forever. And someday we'll remember that.