TEN QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ABOUT FALLOUT

What Is Fallout? Fallout consists of radioactive debris produced by a nuclear explosion and borne into the air.

What Damage Can It Cause? Scientists agree that it can cause cancer, leukemia, sterility, and mutations in future generations.

How Does It Reach People? Either by penetrating their bodies externally if in the explosion area or, more often, by contaminating food they eat.

How Does Fallout Cause Its Damage? By giving off rays that can destroy human tissue.

How Much Fallout Does Testing Cause? All the world's fallout except that from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs has been produced by testing. The Russian series alone doubled the amount of fallout in the world.

Has the Danger Point Been Reached? Scientists disagree, but most feel that current fallout levels are not a clear and present danger to human health. They feel that danger is a long way off.

Could Testing Produce a Dangerous Level? Probably, if it was continued at a rapid rate or for a long period.

Could Fallout Be Avoided? Not completely, so long as explosions continue, but it could be made negligible by cleaner nuclear devices, which the U.S. has already worked on.

Will Fallout Affect Future Generations? Yes, but scientists do not agree to what extent. Most feel that the effect of fallout to date will be small, but only time will prove them right or wrong.

Can People Protect Themselves from Dangerous Fallout? There are many ways that the effects of fallout can be muted, but none of them are needed yet. Scientists believe that changing the diet to avoid radioactivity might do more damage than fallout itself.

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