Fallout
Published: Oct 12, 2018
Fallout is a general term applied to Radioactive materials, produced by detonation of a nuclear device in the atmosphere, which fall back to earth. Fallout can sometimes be thought of as a secondary (radiation / contamination) hazard from a nuclear weapon once the explosion, prompt Gamma and Neutron radiation has passed. Where as the initial radiation doses delivered will be fixed by the physical distance between the explosion and those exposed, fallout can be carried great distances by atmospheric conditions and thus deliver significant radiation doses to those not effected by the initial explosion. Recently, and particularly in the light of the Chernobyl accident, fallout can also be applied to any nuclear accident (event) which results in atmospheric dispersion of radioactive material.