Radiological Defense; A Manual Prepared by the Joint Crossroads Committee, Volume I [Radiological Safety]

Washington, DC: GPO, 1948. Presumed First Edition, First printing thus. Hardcover. good. Quarto (Approximately 8 inches by 10.5 inches), Volume I ONLY. xi, [3], 163, [3] pages. Frontis. Illustrations. Figures. Tables. Bibliography. Appendix on Fission Products. Subject Index. This publication was Official Use Only and remarked Unclassified in pencil. Ex-library with usual library markings. Cover has some wear and soiling. Name in ink inside front cover. Small tear in frontis illustration. Foreword by Major General L. R. Groves, Armed Forces Special Weapons Project. This text is a reprint of a document formerly issued under the title of Radiological Safety. The previous document had been classified as Restricted. Upon review, this document was found to have contained no restricted data under Public Law 585, 79th Congress, the Atomic Energy Act of 1946. Additional volumes were anticipated. The Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP) was a U. S. military agency responsible for those aspects of nuclear weapons remaining under military control after the Manhattan Project was succeeded by the Atomic Energy Commission. These responsibilities included the maintenance, storage, surveillance, security and handling of nuclear weapons, as well as supporting nuclear testing. The AFSWP was a joint organization, staffed by the U. S. Army, U. S. Navy and U. S. Air Force. Major General Leslie R. Groves was its first chief. The early nuclear weapons were stored as components rather than complete devices and required expert knowledge to assemble. The short life of their lead-acid batteries and modulated neutron initiators, and the heat generated by the fissile cores, precluded storing them assembled. The large quantity of explosives in each weapon demanded special care be taken in handling. A team of regular Army officers were trained in the assembly and handling of the weapons.