The effects of irradiation from atomic bomb fall-out upon a group of Hereford cattle

A herd of grade Hereford cattle was accidentally exposed to radioactive particles from the first atomic bomb explosion near Alamagardo, New Mexico in July 1945. These cattle were purchased by the government and shipped to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in December of that year to be maintained and observed. In the spring of 1948, Dr. A. H. Holland, Chief of the Office of Research and Medicine, for the Oak Ridge Operations of the Atomic Energy Commission, requested assistance from the University of Tennessee in developing a program for determining what effect, if any, this irradiation had upon these cattle. Because little was known about the effects of any type of irradiation on farm animals, and because of great possibilities that human beings as well as other farm animals might be exposed to similar irradiation, either from our own tests or from enemy action, Dr. Holland further expressed the need for a detailed study: (a) To determine if there had been any irradiation damage to the germ plasm of the exposed animals. (b) To determine the relative fertility of the exposed animals and their offspring. (c) To determine the long-range effects which irradiation exposure may have on domestic animals. (d) To identify, if possible, pathological changes occurring in the exposed animals. (e) To determine whether or not malignant degeneration would occur in the keratosis lesions on the exposed cattle. (f) To determine, by means of a control herd, whether or not the biological findings were significant. As these cattle and the facilities at Oak Ridge offered a unique opportunity for the investigation and the accumulation of valuable biological information of great interest and importance to the Commission, the University and the public; a cooperative program was developed known as the UT-AEC Agricultural Research Program, with its primary objective being that of determining the effects of the bomb irradiation upon these cattle. The background information concerning the irradiation of these cattle, and any other available information about the cattle, was requested by The University and Oak Ridge research workers, but was not available because it was part of the TOP SECRET report on the first atomic bomb explosion.