A-test man faked fallout figures

Press, 10 February 1983, Page 17

A-test man faked fallout figures

An official who was supposed to monitor the radiation that servicemen and civilians were exposed to after. British nuclear tests has admitted that he faked the readings. The tests took place at Maralinga. in southern Australia. in the late 19505. They were monitored by health teams who issued radiation meters to individuals who were working in the blast areas. Doug Rickard, a 43-year-old Australian who worked for the Department of Supply. claimed When visited by journalist Chris Davies that the instruments. called dosimeters, that were issued to hundreds of people did not work because the batteries which were supposed to charge up their power supplies were flat. “We faked the results.” he says. “1 shudder now when I think about what went on. We were all so naive.” Rickard says he simply estimated the amount of radiation an individual had been exposed to and recorded what he thought was an appropriate figure. Rickard’s claim has been attacked by the Ministry of

By

JOAN SMITH

"Sunday Times,” London £7

Defence in London. A spokesman said that the primary method of measuring exposure at Maralinga was by means of badges carrying strips of film sensitive to radiation. He admitted,, however, that dosimeters were used as well. Rickard claims that one of the film badges he wore turned so black that measuring equipment was unable to take an accurate reading of the level of radiation. The Australian Government has confirmed that Rickard was employed as a member of the’ health physics team at Maralinga. He started work in July, 1957, and left in June, 1959. He has made a claim for compensation for ill-health which he alleges is due to his exposure to radiation; he is suffering from bone marrow damage. Rickard has also said that he found metallic particles which turned out to be cobalt-60, a highly radioactive substance, at a bomb site at Maralinga. Cobalt-60 emits high-energy -radiation for a long period and at one time the idea of a cobalt bomb as a “doomsday machine” was discussed.