Simonds Saw and Steel, the atomic weapons program and the myth of 'practically innocuous' radiation

This paper examines the effects of the U.S. atomic weapons program on the Simonds Saw and Steel site in Lockport, New York, the surrounding environment and the former workers at this site. The resources for the paper include: recently declassified files from the Atomic Energy Commission, the Manhattan Engineering District and the Department of Energy along with records from the Simonds plant to determine the type of work done at this location, the amount of radiation exposure to the workers, and the policy of the A.E.C. towards both the work and the workers. A history of radiation protection standards and the current studies of the effects of depleted uranium exposure are used to argue against current and past radiation exposure policies by the federal government. This paper also explores the myth of "practically innocuous" radiation, how this myth has survived and been preserved despite evidence to the contrary.