Troy in the Cold War[edit]

Troy, New York is a city located in Rensselaer County, in the east-central part of New York State. During the Cold War, the city played a significant role in the United States' defense industry and in the overall national security efforts of the country.

History[edit]

Troy was a thriving industrial city in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was an important manufacturing center for iron, steel, textiles, and other products. During World War II, the city's industrial capacity was put to use in support of the war effort, producing military equipment and supplies.

After the war, the city continued to be an important hub for manufacturing, and this capacity made it an ideal location for the production of defense equipment during the Cold War. In the 1950s and 1960s, the city's economy became increasingly tied to the defense industry.

Role in National Security[edit]

Troy was home to a number of companies that produced military equipment, including Watervliet Arsenal, which was established in 1813 and is still in operation today. During the Cold War, Watervliet Arsenal produced a variety of military equipment, including tanks, howitzers, and artillery shells.

The city was also home to the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, a research facility that played a key role in the development of nuclear propulsion systems for the U.S. Navy. The laboratory was established in 1946, and by the 1960s it employed more than 3,000 people.

In addition to these facilities, Troy was also home to several other companies that produced defense equipment and supplies, including the Norton Company, which produced abrasives and grinding wheels for use in the manufacture of military equipment.

Impact on the City[edit]

The defense industry had a significant impact on the city of Troy during the Cold War. The industry created a large number of jobs, which helped to fuel the city's economy. The city's population grew during this time, as people moved to the area to take advantage of the job opportunities that were available.

However, the city's reliance on the defense industry also made it vulnerable to changes in the political and economic climate. When defense spending was reduced in the 1970s and 1980s, many of the companies in Troy that were dependent on the industry were forced to downsize or close, resulting in job losses and economic decline.

In 2009, the city of troy passed general legislation giving qualifying cold war veterans exemption from paying property taxes up to 10% of the assessed property value but not exceeding $8,000. The legislation further states that any veteran with a disability who receives aid from the department of veteran affairs shall be exempt from taxation by 50% of the assessed property value but not exceeding $40,000. [4]

Nuclear Rainout in New York's Capital District[edit]

On April 27, 1953, RPI professor Herbert Clark detected high levels of radiation in Troy, NY. This nuclear fallout had traveled 2,300 miles from the Nevada Atomic Bomb Testing site, where the largest bomb test called “Simon” had been detonated only two days prior. The Capital District had experienced one of their worst storms on the evening of April 25, causing flooding and water damage to many homes, buildings, cars, and other exposed structures. The storm also delivered high amounts of radioactive rainout throughout the area.

Professor Clark, who had previously worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II, discovered this existence of fallout using RPI lab’s geiger counter readings, measuring more than three times the normal rate of background radiation. After reaching out to the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), RPI worked with the organization to measure reservoirs used in the area, ultimately finding safe levels of radioactivity in the water supplies. Soon after, the AEC publicly released a maximum dose of 100 millirads that the Capital Region received from the Simon testing, although a few days later they determined the dose closer to 2,000 millirads. However, the higher dose was never publicized until many years later when the AEC had documents declassified. For many decades, there was a delay of publicized information and lack of communication regarding this exposure from the government agency.

While we are unable to demonstrate a direct correlation of the radiation effects of Simon on the Capital District due to the various other external health factors, there is a clear trend of higher mortality rates due to cancer in the region. The U.S. Department of Agriculture published “Radioactive Fallout on the Farm” in June 1957, outlining safety measures for dairy farmers if their cows are exposed to fallout. However, these procedures were not implemented in the Capital District. In the book, A Good Day Has No Rain, the author provides examples of families from the area who have lost children to cancer that may have likely been influenced by radiation exposure.

Ionizing radiation has been linked to causing cancer, especially in the breast, thyroid, and bone marrow. A study done in 1982 by Boice and Land concluded that a higher fallout exposure correlates to an increased risk of thyroid cancer. Wilms Tumor, Leukemia, and thyroid cancer are types of cancer that are more susceptible to radioactive effects. The number of cases of Leukemia in the Capital District increased 5 years after Simon, which aligns with the predicted peak of radioactivity. There were a total of 24 cases within 5 years after the fallout, according to the New York State Department of Health.

Statistical data indicates higher cancer mortality rates in the New York region, the three counties accounting for 4.7, 2.9, and 2.3 percent of the state's total cancer deaths in 1980. The U.S. Cancer Mortality Rates and Trends by National Cancer Institute reported that Schenectady county had 80 leukemia deaths among white males between 1950-1959, being the only county other than New York City regarded as “significantly more deaths than expected” for that decade. In the Atlas of Cancer Mortality Among Whites by the National Cancer Institute, the Capital District fell in the red zone or highest 10 percent of cancer mortality rates among white females for three decades, while white males were in the zone for the first two of those decades, 1950-1959 and 1960-1969.