CD V-777-1 Alternative Kit for Emergency Service Organizations
For additional information about the various CD V-777 sets, go to the General Information section.
The boxes shown above and to the left are very early versions of that employed to house the CD V-777-1 "Shelter Radiation Detection Kit." Clearly, they have seen better days. But so have we all. Especially those of us as old as these boxes are. Thanks go to the kind donor of these items, Rob Stone.
Box Size: 10" x 14" x 7"
Box Size: 10" x 14" x 8"
According to the 1962 and 1963 annual reports of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), the CD V-777-1 set, first produced in 1962, was intended for use in public fallout shelters. By 1978, when Radiological Defense Preparedness (CPG 2-6.1) was published, that job had been given to the CD V-777-2 set, and the CD V-777-1 was now an "alternate set for emergency service organization use." The older boxes (with the word "kit" on them) were produced when the CD V-777-1 served its original role as the primary set employed in fallout shelters. The box above right (with the word "set" on it) was produced later when the CD V-777-1 became the alternate set for use by emergency service personnel.
Quoting CPG 1-30 (FEMA 1981): "The CDV-777-1, alternate set, is the same as the CDV-777 except that it has only one CDV-715, high range radiological survey instrument. These sets are used for self-protection monitoring by emergency services, vital facilities and essential industries. The CDV-777-1, alternate set, is issued when more than one set is needed at a location and for use on emergency service vehicles (police, fire, rescue, ambulances, etc.)."
Similarly, the 1991 FEMA publication Use of Civil Defense Radiological Instruments for Peacetime Radiological Emergencies (CPG 2-2), describes the CD V-777-1 set as "an alternate set for use by emergency service organizations." In other words, the CD V-777-1 is an alternative to the CD V-777 set which was the standard set recommended for use by emergency service organizations.
With regard to the contents of the set, the 1991 FEMA publication CPG 2-2, Use of Civil Defense Radiological Instruments for Peacetime Radiological Emergencies, indicates that the recommended composition of the CD V-777-1 set is: one CD V-700 GM detector, one CD V-715 ion chamber, six CD V-742 pocket dosimeters and one CD V-750 charger-reader.
The original makeup of the set as described in the 1963 annual report of the OCD was exactly the same except that it had two dosimeters, not six. The Defense Civil Preparedness Agency's Radiological Defense Preparedness pointed out that instrument sets issued after 1978 included six dosimeters.
The following text from CPG 1-30 Guide for the Design and Development of a Local Radiological Defense Support System (1981) nicely summarizes the capability that the CD V-777-1 set should provide emergency services self-protection monitoring:
"Self-Protection Radiological Monitoring Capability—for monitoring and assessing the radiological environment in order to control the radiation exposure of personnel who must conduct emergency operations in a fallout radiation environment. This capability is required for personnel in emergency services organizations; at vital facilities, including hospitals, utilities, and essential industries; and for the large number of additional emergency workers who would be required for postattack recovery operations. It is necessary to:
- Evaluate the radiation risks of proposed operations
- Maintain individual exposure records of emergency workers
- Measure actual exposure rates at the location where emergency operations are being conducted to confirm or revise estimates
- Evaluate how long personnel can work without exceeding established exposure limits
- Measure the actual radiation exposures of personnel performing emergency operations"
The following figure from the 1962 OCD Annual Report shows the first version of the CD V-777-1.
| Estimated Cumulative Distribution of CD V-777-1 Sets | |
|---|---|
| FY 1963 | |
| FY 1964 | 56,242 |
| FY 1965 | 72,790 |
| FY 1966 | 83,507 |
| FY 1967 | 91,394 |
| FY 1968 | 102,528 |
| FY 1969 | 114,643 |
| FY 1970 | 124,964 |
| FY 1971 | 130,757 |
| FY 1973 | 137,871 |
CD V-777-1 set donated by the State of Wisconsin courtesy of Michael Mack.
References
- Defense Civil Preparedness Agency. Radiological Defense Preparedness. CPG 2-6.1. April 1978.
- Federal Emergency Management Agency. Guide for the Design and Development of a Local Radiological Defense Support System. CPG 1-30. June 1981.
- Federal Emergency Management Agency. Use of Civil Defense Radiological Instruments for Peacetime Radiological Emergencies. CPG 2-2. 1991.