Krishnakumar Nangeelil, Haven Searcy, and Zaijing Sun (all Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences), along with Beverly Parker from the Community Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP) at the Desert Research Institute, published an article titled, “Assessing Radiation Fallout in Public Zones near the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS): A Recent Study,” in Health Physics, the official radiation safety journal of the Health Physics Society. 

The paper conducted a comprehensive radiological study in the surrounding public zones of the Nevada National Security Site to identify traces of resuspended radioactivity and heavy elemental contamination that might have resulted from various activities. The study used passive and active nuclear methods, specifically gamma spectrometry and instrumental neutron activation analysis, respectively. The results demonstrated that there was no measurable radiological impact on the public zones surrounding the site resulting from the spread of radioactive materials or toxic heavy metals associated with previous or ongoing activities at Nevada National Security Site. The significance of this study is further pronounced in the current geopolitical context, as it establishes the baseline elemental composition for various desert plants for future reference.This work was an collaboration research between the groups of Health, Environment, and Radiation Detection (HERD) and Community Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP) .