Galveston Area (ARMS-II)
Abstract
An Aerial Radiological Measuring Survey (ARMS) of the Galveston area was made for the Civil Effects Test Operations, Division of Biology and Medicine, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, by Edgerton, Germeshausen & Grier, Inc., between Jan. 27 and Feb. 17, 1962. The survey was part of a nationwide program to measure present environmental levels of gamma radiation. Approximately 4400 traverse miles were flown, at an altitude of 500 ft above the ground, in the area that consists of the land portion of a 100-mile square centered on Galveston, Tex. The EG&G ARMS-II instrumentation was used in the survey. The data are presented as aeroradioactivity units, or areas with similar gamma radiation rates at 500 ft, at two map scales: (1) generalized at about 1: 1,000,000 and (2) detailed at 1: 250,000. The aeroradioactivity in the area is less than 800 counts/sec, and in much of the area, the radioactivity is less than 400 counts/sec. Aerial measurements of ground radioactivity in the ARMS-II Galveston area were consistent everywhere with what was expected, considering the geology of the area. Most of the area has a low radioactivity, and the surficial materials are mostly Quaternary clays, silts, and sand, which are, in general, weakly radioactive. The western part of the area along the Brazos River is slightly more radioactive than the rest of the area. Artificial radionuclides are probably present in only small quantities because the maximum background gamma radioactivity in many places is less than 200 counts/sec.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 15, 1963
- Accession Number
- ADA438059
Entities
People
- R. B. Guillou