Kodak Film Fogged by the Trinity Test (1945) |
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Prior to WW II the
Kodak Company had gone to considerable trouble to ensure that the
cardboard it used for packaging its film was free of radioactive
contamination. Kodak had learned to their dismay that cardboard and paper
made from recycled products could be contaminated due to materials originating
from the radium industry. |
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Shortly after
the atomic bomb was dropped on Kindly donated by Merril Eisenbud |
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Recognizing the sensitivity of this information, Dr. Webb waited until 1949 before publishing the story in the open literature. As a partial response to the event, the Kodak Company installed air samplers in the intake for their building ventilation system to monitor for fallout. The following declassified letter was written in 1947 by a consultant at Los Alamos to Dr. Webb requesting more information about the incident. |
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Reference Webb, J.H., The Fogging of Photographic Film by Radioactive Contaminants in Cardboard Packaging Materials, Physical Review Vol. 76 (3):375-380, 1949. |
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Last updated: 07/25/07
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