A great deal has been written on this subject since it has tended to become, at times, a major political issue in America and recently in the U.K. As is not unusual the clarity of the subject for the general public has been clouded as much by the ignorance of the more ardent protagonists and of course, as is also not unusual, the more violent advocates for both sides are well off the beam.

     Standard fission weapons did not tend to be big enough to raise the normal background of radiation on earth significantly, but with the advent of the experiential fusion or "H" Bombs and the necessarily experimental way in which they were at first tested these levels took a sharp upward rise. This was of no dangerous significance but served as a warning that these weapons were a potential world menace even in peace time if the original methods of testing were continued. The first U.S. 'H' Bomb in the Spring of 1954 was located on a small atoll not unlike Malden Island. When the weapon was exploded the whole island - millions of tons of coral with large amounts of sea was vapourised and thrown up to a height of 80,000 - 90,000 feet.

     Not unnaturally what goes up must came down particularly since the average particle size of the vapourised coral was relatively large and for a distance of some hundred miles across the Pacific there was a huge "fall out" This did not follow the expected pattern for various reasons and the various unfortunate incidents of the Japanese fishermen and the Marshall Islanders occurred together with a very significant increase in the levels of the dangerous fission products through the whole world.

     British techniques of high air bursts both from balloons and from aircraft almost completely avoids this, since all that is involved is the actual bomb casing itself. This is vapourised completely and carried through up into the stratosphere taking many months to return to the earths surface by which time the bulk of radioactivity has decayed and the minute particles spread literally over the whole surface of the globe. These techniques ensure that the fireball does not come into contact with the surface of the sea or land at the target, so that except for a very low level of induced radioactivity near the target area there is no contamination of the island at all.