Summary: In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed certain issues concerning radiation safety activities during the 1946 Operation Crossroads nuclear test to answer questions raised by private citizens about the accuracy of the Defense Nuclear Agency's (DNA) radiation exposure estimates, which are used by the Veterans Administration (VA) in adjudicating former participants' radiation-related disability claims. These issues concerned the: (1) reliability of the radiation dose film badges used; (2) adequacy of the personnel decontamination procedures; (3) appropriateness of the military response to recommendations made by the radiological safety office regarding safety issues; and (4) accuracy of DNA reconstruction efforts.
The DNA report on Operation Crossroads concluded that personnel had not been overexposed to radiation, based on data recorded on film badges worn by about 6,300 of the 42,000 participants and reconstructed external and internal radiation dose estimates for the participants. GAO found that the exposure estimates for each of the four radiation types may need adjustment because: (1) the film badges were not reliable for measuring both external gamma and beta radiation, as intended, and were not worn by all Crossroads participants; (2) personnel decontamination procedures did not provide adequate protection for Crossroads personnel throughout the operation; and (3) the DNA dose reconstruction analysis for alpha and beta radiation did not properly estimate the possible personnel exposure from inhalation, ingestion, or open wounds.
