American Concern Over Fall-out

Press, Volume C, Issue 29625, 22 September 1961, Page 11

American Concern Over Fall-out

(N.Z. Press Association— Copyright) NEW YORK, September 21. North American health officials expressed growing concern today over widespread increases in radioactive fall-out, as the Canadian Government prepared to lay new fall-out figures before the United Nations.

The Canadian Prime Minitser (Mr Diefenbaker) said the statistics would be "supporting evidence” of the Soviet Union’s “disregard of humanity and its welfare."

Canada’s Minister of Health (Mr J. W. Monteith) warned that a public health hazard would exist if the Soviet testing continued "for a sufficient period of time.” He did not define the length of this period. While the Canadian fallout experts gathered reports of sharp increases in atmospheric radio-activity over Canada’s eastern province. United States public health officials reported similar Increases in 13 points throughout the United States. The highest reading was in Montgomery, Alabama, where, on Tuesday, the rate was 534 micro-microcuries per cubic metre of air—a

huge jump from September 14. when the reading was 2.6. In Pascagoula, Missouri—where there was no detectable radio-activity on September 13 and 14—there was a reading of 504. In six radiation detection stations in the United States, however, substantial decreases were recorded. In Columbia, South Carolina, the rate fell from 383 on Monday to 12.6 the next day. Both United States and Canadian health officials said present levels of radioactivity did not threaten the publics health unless sustained indefinitely. Dr. E. A. Watkinson, head of the Canadian Health Department’s environmental health division, told reporters there was no reason for the public to be disturbed about the latest increases in fallout.