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Environmental surveillance at the fence line of a low-level radioactive waste disposal site on the Nevada Test Site includes sampling for air particulates, radioiodines, tritium in atmospheric moisture, and airborne transuranics, plus an array of thermoluminescent dosimeters for measurement of external gamma exposures. The results obtained from this surveillance are displayed and discussed. The calculated effluents and the resultant effective dose equivalents to workers and the general public are discussed. It is concluded that, in the 15 years since its establishment, this waste disposal site has led to no significant radiological exposure to workers, the general public, or the environment.

The historical data on the cumulative individual external gamma exposures are tabulated for communities around the Nevada Test Site for the time periods of 1961 to the signing of the Limited Test Ban Treaty on 5 August 1963, and from then until 1975. The collective exposures during the two time periods are calculated to be 610 and 320 person-R, respectively. The total collective external gamma exposure from 1951 through 1975 for these communities s calculated to be 86,000 person-R. The area considered includes the countries of Clark, Lincoln, Nye, and White Pine in Nevada and the countries of Iron and Washington in Utah; inclusion of Salt Lake City would have substantially increased the calculated collective exposure because of the large population. The methods of calculation are reviewed. Also, the historical data on the assessment of dose via ingestion are reviewed with emphasis on the dose to the thyroid of infants living in St. George, UT, at the time of fallout from event HARRY on 19 May 1953.