Elizabeth Tynan - Atomic Thunder - The Maralinga Story

Seager, Drake 102

Seamen’s Union 155

secrecy

British atomic research 42

British deceit over plutonium residues 117, 131–133, 282–283, 289, 290, 292–293

consequences 310–311

Manhattan Project 46–47

Maralinga trials 110

media compliance with 201, 209–210, 225, 269

Monte Bello tests 64–65, 68

Vixen B trials 97, 116–117, 119, 124–125, 151

see also D-notice system; spies and espionage

Secrets in the Sand (BBC documentary) 295

Shedden, Frederick 64, 65, 95, 147, 208, 211, 215–216, 218–219

Sheehan, EL 221

Sinclair, Ian 260–261

Skipper, JH 102

Smith, Frank 192

Snowden, Edward 311

Soviet Union see USSR

spies and espionage 50–52, 56–58, 204

Stanton, John 20

Stevens, Donald 141

stochastic effect 131, 317g

Strassmann, Fritz 36

strontium-90: 152, 228, 234, 303

Stubbs, Stewart 159

Sun 88, 108, 209

Supply, Department of 94–95, 96–97, 128, 168

Sydney Morning Herald 80, 150, 208–209, 213, 250, 254, 258–260, 262, 265, 289

Symons, Michael 250

Szilard, Leo 35, 37, 39, 162

TAG (Technical Assessment Group) 283, 284, 292, 295

Taranaki site

burial of plutonium at 16, 26, 129, 232, 238–239, 243, 254, 280–281, 282

exclusion zone around 128

origin of name 22–23

plutonium residues at 22–23, 26, 119–122, 123, 129, 228, 234, 239, 241–242, 279, 282

see also Operation Antler; Owen, George; Vixen B trials

terrorist threat 254, 255, 257, 258, 259, 261

The Australian 20

thermonuclear weapons, defined 157, 318g

Thomson, David 269

Thomson, Donald 177

Thomson, George 42, 219

Thwaites, Tim 288

Timbs, Maurice 124, 167, 168

Tims trials 118, 120, 255–256

Titterton, Ernest

on Aboriginal people’s safety 172–173

as advocate of nuclear weapons 149–150, 151

appointment to ANU 6, 141

on ‘black mist’ allegations 197

as chair of AWSTC 141, 143–144, 151, 161–169, 172–173, 190–191, 303

character 140, 144–145

analysis of babies’ bones and 302–303

concealment of information by 120, 132–133, 138, 151, 162–167

death and obituary 140–141, 143–144

‘Dr Strangelove’ appellation 7, 140, 144

on fallout danger 250

insider status with AWRE 78, 120, 133, 140, 143, 147–149, 161–162, 169, 235

on plutonium contamination risks 258, 273

political role in the testing program 165–166

role in British and American atomic research and testing 46, 54, 140–143

role in clean-up operations 235–236

Royal Commission’s criticism of 132–133, 138, 140, 143–144

on terrorist threat 258

Vixen B trials and 120, 132–133, 163–166, 168

Tizard, Henry 53

Tjarutja people see Maralinga Tjarutja people

TM100 and TM101 sites 228, 232, 234, 238–239, 255

Toohey, Brian

investigative reporting by 19, 256–258, 260–261 263, 265–266

Killen’s denunciation of 261–262

Tooke, Thomas 297–299

Torlesse, Arthur 70, 71

Totem see Operation Totem

Townley, Athol 124, 164, 167

Tracker , HMS 71

Trident missiles 309

Trimouille Island (Monte Bello) 70, 71, 86, 89, 245–246

Trinity test at Alamogordo 47–48, 140

Truman, Harry 48

Truth/Mirror newspapers 109

Tube Alloys Directorate 33, 35, 44–45, 49, 55

Turner, Harry 97, 105, 162, 163, 192–193, 229, 231

Tyte, LC 70

underground tests proposal 227

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics see USSR

United Aborigines Mission 175–176

United Australian Press (UAP) 218

United Kingdom

1968 agreement on contamination responsibility 16, 19, 26, 244, 276, 281–282, 291–292

deception over Vixen B trials by 117, 131–133, 163, 244–245, 282–283, 289, 290, 292–293

denial of responsibility for plutonium clean-up 260, 276, 291–292

negotiations with Australia on compensation 276, 279–281, 283, 285–286, 288, 291–292, 294–295

nuclear weapons program 4, 52–56, 58–60, 307–309

repatriation of Tims plutonium by 121, 255–256, 259–260, 266–267, 292

role in nuclear weapons development 34–35, 39–44, 53–56, 58–60, 299–300

views McMahon Act as betrayal 50

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) 259

United Press Associations (UPA) 220–221

United States Air Force 81–82

uranium, characteristics 36

Uren, Tom 250–251, 254, 259

USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)

as atomic power 6–7, 57, 84, 107, 154

Britain and 55–56

and moratorium (1958) on atomic testing 126, 269

radioactive contamination in 246

spy rings 7, 37, 50–52, 56–58, 202, 204

see also Cold War

Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 : 306

victims see Indigenous people; nuclear veterans

Viereck, Jennifer 3

Vixen A trials 127–128

Vixen B trials

British deception 117, 131–133, 244–245, 282–283, 289, 290, 292–293

governmental and public concerns 132

as breach of international law 121, 125–126, 129, 132–136, 250–251, 254, 268

lack of media attention 124–126, 225

objectives and methods 119–121

preparations 114–116

radioactive consequences 116–117, 121–123, 129, 277, 281, 282

safety controls 128–131, 137–138

secrecy surrounding 97, 116–117, 119, 132

similarity with Roller Coaster trials 119, 136, 278–279

Titterton’s concealment of dangers 151, 163–169

Toohey’s revelations 265–266

Walker, Frank 306

Wallatinna 174, 197–198, 271

Walsh, Peter 17, 19–20, 31–32, 269–270

Warburton Mission 179, 190

Warrego , HMAS 64, 68, 86

Weapons Research Establishment (WRE) 170, 184, 190

Webb, Jeremy 286, 290

Wewak site 127, 228, 232, 238

Wheeler, John 36

whistleblowing see Moroney, John; New Scientist story; Snowden, Edward; Toohey, Brian; WikiLeaks

White, B 192

Whitlam, Gough 248, 251

Wigner, Eugene 35, 39

WikiLeaks 307–308

Williams, Edward 207

Williams, Geoff

appraisal of black mist 198

ARL contamination survey and 13–18, 22–24

as source for Anderson story 32, 276–277, 284–285

Windscale 53–54, 71

Woodcock, ER 172

Woollett, Stuart 302

Woomera missile testing site 12, 177, 203–204, 207

WRE (Weapons Research Establishment) 170, 184, 190

X200: 76

X300: 1, 12, 93, 187

Yalata mission 174, 176, 182, 193, 196

yield (of nuclear explosion) 318g

Zeebrugge , HMS 71

ELIZABETH TYNAN is an academic at the James Cook University Graduate Research School in Queensland. A former journalist, she has a background in print and electronic media; previously she was a reporter and subeditor at the ABC and a correspondent for New Scientist magazine. She has also worked as a writer and editor at CSIRO, the Australian National University and the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Born in South Australia, she has long been fascinated by Maralinga and in 2011 completed a PhD on aspects of British nuclear testing in Australia. She is also a freelance science writer and editor, and co-author of the textbook Media and Journalism: New Approaches to Theory and Practice , now in its third edition, and of Communication for Business .

Published by NewSouth Publishing