The Nevada National Security Site (N2S2 or NNSS), known as the Nevada Test Site (NTS) until 2010, is a
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...
(DOE) reservation located in southeastern
Nye County, Nevada
Nye County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,591. Its county seat is Tonopah. At , Nye is Nevada's largest county by area and the third-largest county in the contiguous United States, behi ...
, about 65 miles (105 km) northwest of the city of
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. Formerly known as the Nevada Proving Grounds, the site was established in 1951 for the testing of
nuclear devices
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (Thermonuclear weapon, thermonu ...
. It covers approximately 1,360 square miles (3,500 km
2) of desert and mountainous terrain.
Nuclear weapons testing
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, Nuclear weapon yield, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detona ...
at the site began with a 1-kiloton-of-TNT (4.2 TJ) bomb dropped on
Frenchman Flat
Frenchman Flat is a hydrographic basin in the Nevada National Security Site south of Yucca Flat and north of Mercury, Nevada. The flat was used as an American nuclear test site and has a dry lake bed (Frenchman Lake) that was used as a 1950s ...
on January 27, 1951. Over the subsequent four decades, over 1,000 nuclear explosions were detonated at the site. Many of the iconic images of the nuclear era come from the site.
During the 1950s, the
mushroom cloud
A mushroom cloud is a distinctive mushroom-shaped flammagenitus cloud of debris, smoke and usually condensed water vapor resulting from a large explosion. The effect is most commonly associated with a nuclear explosion, but any sufficiently ener ...
s from the 100 atmospheric tests could be seen from almost away. The city of Las Vegas experienced noticeable
seismic
Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...
effects, and the mushroom clouds, which could be seen from the downtown hotels, became tourist attractions.
Westerly winds routinely carried the fallout from above-ground nuclear testing directly through
St. George, Utah
St. George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The city lies in the northe ...
and southern
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
. Increases in
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
s, such as leukemia, lymphoma, thyroid cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, bone cancer, brain tumors, and gastrointestinal tract cancers, were reported from the mid-1950s onward.
[Falk, Jim (1982). ''Global Fission:The Battle Over Nuclear Power'', p. 134.] A further 828 nuclear tests were carried out underground.
From 1986 through 1994, two years after the United States put a hold on full-scale nuclear weapons testing, 536
anti-nuclear protests
Anti-nuclear protests began on a small scale in the U.S. as early as 1946 in response to Operation Crossroads. Large scale anti-nuclear protests first emerged in the mid-1950s in Japan in the wake of the March 1954 Lucky Dragon Incident. Aug ...
were held at the site, involving 37,488 participants and 15,740 arrests, according to government records.
[Western Shoshone spiritual leader dies](_blank)
/ref>
The site contains 28 areas, 1,100 buildings, 400 miles (640 km) of paved roads, 300 miles of unpaved roads, 10 heliports
A heliport is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and some other vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. I ...
, and two airstrips.
Currently, Mission Support and Test Services (MSTS) is the civilian contractor for the site's management and oversees overall operations. MSTS manages and operates the site for the National Nuclear Security Administration
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is a United States federal agency responsible for safeguarding national security through the military application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, and e ...
(NNSA). Security is provided by SOC LLC.
History
The site was established as a area by President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
on December 18, 1950, within the Nellis Air Force Gunnery and Bombing Range.
1951–1992
The site was the primary testing location of American nuclear devices from 1951 to 1992; 928 announced nuclear tests occurred there. Of those, 828 were underground.[U.S. Department of Energy / Nevada Operations Office, ''United States Nuclear Tests - July 1945 through September 1992'', December 2000]
DOE/NV-209 Rev 15
(Sixty-two of the underground tests included multiple, simultaneous nuclear detonations, adding 93 detonations and bringing the total number of NTS nuclear detonations to 1,021, of which 921 were underground.) The site contains many subsidence crater
__NOTOC__
A subsidence crater is a hole or depression left on the surface of an area which has had an underground (usually nuclear) explosion. Many such craters are commonly present at bomb testing areas; one notable example is the Nevada Test S ...
s from the testing.
The site was the United States' primary location for tests smaller than . 126 tests were conducted elsewhere, including most larger tests. Many of these occurred at the Pacific Proving Grounds
The Pacific Proving Grounds was the name given by the United States government to a number of sites in the Marshall Islands and a few other sites in the Pacific Ocean at which it conducted nuclear testing between 1946 and 1962. The U.S. tested a ...
in the Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
.
During the 1950s, the mushroom cloud
A mushroom cloud is a distinctive mushroom-shaped flammagenitus cloud of debris, smoke and usually condensed water vapor resulting from a large explosion. The effect is most commonly associated with a nuclear explosion, but any sufficiently ener ...
s from atmospheric tests could be seen for almost . The city of Las Vegas experienced noticeable seismic effects, and the distant mushroom clouds, which could be seen from the downtown hotels, became tourist attractions. The last atmospheric test detonation at the site was "Little Feller I
Little Feller II and Little Feller I were code names for a set of nuclear tests undertaken by the United States at the Nevada Test Site on July 7 and 17, 1962 as part of Operation Sunbeam. They were both tests of stockpiled W54 warheads, the ...
" of Operation Sunbeam
Operation Sunbeam (also known as Operation Dominic II) was a series of four nuclear tests conducted at the United States's Nevada Test Site in 1962. ''Operation Sunbeam'' tested tactical nuclear warheads; the most notable was the ''Davy Crocket ...
, on July 17, 1962.
Although the United States did not ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a multilateral treaty to ban nuclear weapons test explosions and any other nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all environments. It was adopted by the United Nations ...
, it honors the articles of the treaty, and underground testing of weapons ended as of September 23, 1992. Subcritical tests not involving a critical mass
In nuclear engineering, a critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specifically, its nuclear fissi ...
continued.
One notable test shot was the " Sedan" shot of Operation Storax
Operation Storax was a series of 47 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1962–1963 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the ''Operation Fishbowl'' series and preceded the ''Operation Roller Coaster'' series.
British test ...
on July 6, 1962, a shot for Operation Plowshare
Project Plowshare was the overall United States program for the development of techniques to use nuclear explosives for peaceful construction purposes. The program was organized in June 1957 as part of the worldwide Atoms for Peace efforts. As ...
, which sought to prove that nuclear weapons could be used for peaceful means in creating bays or canals. It created a crater 1,280 feet (390 m) wide and 320 feet (100 m) deep.
1992–present
More than 27 subcritical tests have been conducted at the site
In 2018, the State of Nevada sued the federal government to block a plan to ship "more than a metric ton" of plutonium to the site for temporary storage.
In 2022, the government acknowledged that 13,625 cubic meters of radioactive material conforming to its disposal criteria had been shipped to the site for disposal.
Destruction and survivability testing
Testing of the various effects of detonation of nuclear weapons was carried out during above-ground tests. Many kinds of vehicles (ranging from cars to aircraft), nuclear-fallout and standard bomb-shelters, public-utility stations and other building structures and equipment were placed at measured distances away from "ground zero", the spot on the surface immediately under or over the center of the blast. Operation Cue
Operation Teapot was a series of 14 nuclear test explosions conducted at the Nevada Test Site in the first half of 1955. It was preceded by ''Operation Castle'', and followed by '' Operation Wigwam''. ''Wigwam'' was, administratively, a part of ...
tested civil defense
Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, miti ...
measures. Such civilian and commercial effects testing was done with many of the atomic tests of Operation Greenhouse
Operation Greenhouse was the fifth American nuclear test series, the second conducted in 1951 and the first to test principles that would lead to developing thermonuclear weapons (''hydrogen bombs''). Conducted at the new Pacific Proving Grou ...
on Eniwetok Atoll
Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...
, Operation Upshot-Knothole and Operation Teapot
Operation Teapot was a series of 14 nuclear test explosions conducted at the Nevada Test Site in the first half of 1955. It was preceded by ''Operation Castle'', and followed by ''Operation Wigwam''. ''Wigwam'' was, administratively, a part of ...
at the site.
Homes and commercial buildings of many different types and styles were built to standards typical of American and (less-often) European cities. Other such structures included military fortifications (of types used by both NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
and the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...
) and civil-defense as well as "backyard"-type shelters. In such a typical test, several of the same buildings and structures might be built using the same layouts and plans with different types of materials, paints, general landscaping, cleanliness of the surrounding yards, wall-angles or varying distances from ground zero. Mannequins were placed in and around the test vehicles and buildings, aside from some left out in the open, for testing clothing and shock effects.
High-speed cameras were placed in protected locations to capture effects of radiation and shock waves. Typical imagery from these cameras shows paint boiling off the buildings, which are then pushed violently away from ground zero by the shock wave before being drawn toward the detonation by the suction caused by the climbing mushroom cloud. Footage from these cameras has become iconic, used in various media and available in the public domain.
This testing allowed the development of Civil Defense guidelines, distributed to the public, to increase the likelihood of survival in case of air- or spaceborne nuclear attack.
Environmental impact
Each of the below-ground explosions—some as deep as 5,000 feet (1.5 km)—vaporized a large chamber, leaving a cavity filled with radioactive
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consid ...
rubble. About a third of the tests were conducted directly in aquifer
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...
s, and others were hundreds or thousands of feet below the water table
The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated.
T ...
.[Ralph Vartabedian]
Nuclear scars: Tainted water runs beneath Nevada desert
''Los Angeles Times'', November 13, 2009.
When underground explosions ended in 1992, the Department of Energy estimated that more than of radioactivity remained in the environment at that time, making the site one of the most contaminated locations in the United States. In the most seriously affected zones, the concentration of radioactivity in groundwater reaches millions of picocuries per liter. (The federal standard for drinking water is 20 picocuries per liter (0.74 Bq/L).) Although radioactivity levels in the water continue to decline over time, the longer-lived isotopes like plutonium or uranium could pose risks for thousands of years.
The Department of Energy has more than 48 monitoring wells at the site. Because the contaminated water poses no immediate health threat, the department ranked the site as low priority for clean-up. In 2009, tritium
Tritium ( or , ) or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with half-life about 12 years. The nucleus of tritium (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus o ...
with a half-life of 12.3 years was first detected in groundwater off-site in Pahute Mesa
Pahute Mesa or Paiute Mesa is one of four major nuclear test regions within the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). It occupies in the northwest corner of the NNSS in Nevada. The eastern section is known as Area 19 and the western section as ...
, near the locations of the 1968 Benham and 1975 Tybo tests.
The DOE issues an annual environmental monitoring report containing data from the monitoring wells both on and off site.
Janice C. Beatley
Janice Carson Beatley (March 18, 1919 – November 14, 1987) was an American botanist, known for her fieldwork on the forests of Ohio and the flora of the Nevada Atomic Test Site. Beatley was Professor of Biological Sciences at the Universit ...
started to study the botany of the Nevada test site in 1962 when she created 68 study sites. The intention had been to study the effect of radiation on the plants but this plan had to be changed when the United States abandoned atmospheric testing in 1963. The sites however became important because they recorded long term change through 1980. Much of her data was never published; however it was all transferred to the United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
after her death. It was "an ideal place to conduct long-term ecosystem research."
Protests and demonstrations
From 1986 through 1994, two years after the United States ended nuclear weapons testing, 536 demonstrations were held at the site involving 37,488 participants and 15,740 arrests, according to government records.
On February 5, 1987, more than 400 people were arrested trying to enter the site after nearly 2,000 demonstrators held a rally to protest nuclear weapons testing. Those arrested included the astronomer Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...
and the actors Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Nig ...
, Martin Sheen
Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...
, and Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to:
Sportspeople
* Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player
* Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer
* Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player
* Rob Blake (born 19 ...
. Five Democratic members of Congress attended the rally: Thomas J. Downey, Mike Lowry
Michael Edward Lowry (March 8, 1939 – May 1, 2017) was an American politician who served as the 20th governor of Washington from 1993 to 1997. His political career ended abruptly following a sexual misconduct allegation made against him by h ...
, Jim Bates, Leon E. Panetta, and Barbara Boxer
Barbara Sue Boxer (née Levy; born November 11, 1940) is an American politician and lobbyist who served in the United States Senate, representing California from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the U.S. ...
.[Robert Lindsey]
438 Protesters are Arrested at Nevada Nuclear Test Site
''New York Times'', February 6, 1987.
American Peace Test (APT) and Nevada Desert Experience (NDE) held most of these. In March 1988, APT held an event where more than 8,000 people attended a ten-day action to "Reclaim the Test Site", where nearly 3,000 people were arrested, including more than 1,200 in one day. This set a record for most civil disobedience arrests in a single protest.
After 1994, Shundahai Network in cooperation with Nevada Desert Experience
Nevada Desert Experience is a name for the movement to stop U.S. nuclear weapons testing that came into use in the middle 1980s. It is also the name of an anti-nuclear organization which continues to create public events to question the morality ...
and Corbin Harney continued the protests of the work at the site and staged efforts to stop a repository for highly radioactive waste
Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons r ...
adjacent to the test site at nearby Yucca Mountain
Yucca Mountain is a mountain in Nevada, near its border with California, approximately northwest of Las Vegas. Located in the Great Basin, Yucca Mountain is east of the Amargosa Desert, south of the Nevada Test and Training Range and in the Ne ...
.
Modern usage
The site continues to be used for nuclear weapons research and development. This includes subcritical testing. These tests are conducted jointly by Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, ...
, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federal research facility in Livermore, California, United States. The lab was originally established as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch in 1952 in response ...
, and the British Atomic Weapons Establishment
The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is a United Kingdom Ministry of Defence research facility responsible for the design, manufacture and support of warheads for the UK's nuclear weapons. It is the successor to the Atomic Weapons Research ...
. A recent one was ''Ediza'' (2019), and ''Nightshade A'' (2020).
The site offers monthly public tours, often booked months in advance. Visitors are not allowed to bring cameras, binoculars, or cell phones, nor are they permitted to pick up rocks for souvenirs.
While there are no longer any explosive tests of nuclear weapons at the site, there is still testing done to determine the viability of the United States' aging nuclear arsenal. Additionally, the site is the location of the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Complex, which sorts and stores low-level radioactive waste
Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons r ...
that is not transuranic
The transuranium elements (also known as transuranic elements) are the chemical elements with atomic numbers greater than 92, which is the atomic number of uranium. All of these elements are unstable and decay radioactively into other elements. ...
and has a half life of less than 20 years.
The Radiological/Nuclear WMD Incident Exercise Site (T-1) replicates multiple terrorist radiological incidents with train, plane, automobile, truck, and helicopter props. It is located in Area 1, at the former site of tests EASY, SIMON, APPLE-2, and GALILEO.
Landmarks and geography
A table of interesting places in and around the NNSS is presented here, which corresponds with many of the descriptions in the Nevada Test Site Guide.
Cancer and test site
St. George, Utah
St. George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The city lies in the northe ...
received fallout from above-ground nuclear testing
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...
in the Yucca Flats
Yucca Flat is a closed desert drainage basin, one of four major nuclear test regions within the Nevada Test Site (NTS), and is divided into nine test sections: Areas 1 through 4 and 6 through 10. Yucca Flat is located at the eastern edge of NTS, ...
at the site. Winds routinely carried the fallout of these tests directly through St. George and southern Utah. Marked increases in cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
s such as leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
, lymphoma
Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...
, thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. C ...
, breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
, melanoma
Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...
, bone cancer
A bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, thyro ...
, brain tumor
A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...
s, and gastrointestinal tract cancers were reported from the mid-1950s through 1980.
On May 19, 1953, the 32-kiloton
TNT equivalent is a convention for expressing energy, typically used to describe the energy released in an explosion. The is a unit of energy defined by that convention to be , which is the approximate energy released in the detonation of a t ...
(130 TJ) atomic bomb (nicknamed "Harry") was detonated at the site. The bomb later gained the name "Dirty Harry
''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir
Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates ...
" because of the amount of off-site fallout
Nuclear fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. It commonly refers to the radioac ...
generated by the bomb.
A 1962 United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President H ...
report found that "children living in St. George, Utah may have received doses to the thyroid
The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans it is in the neck and consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by a thin band of tissue called the thyroid isthmus. The thy ...
of radioiodine
There are 37 known isotopes of iodine (53I) from 108I to 144I; all undergo radioactive decay except 127I, which is stable. Iodine is thus a monoisotopic element.
Its longest-lived radioactive isotope, 129I, has a half-life of 15.7 million year ...
as high as 120 to 440 rads" (1.2 to 4.4 Gy).[Pat Ortmeyer and Arjun Makhijani.]
Let Them Drink Milk
" ''The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
The ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'' is a nonprofit organization concerning science and global security issues resulting from accelerating technological advances that have negative consequences for humanity. The ''Bulletin'' publishes conte ...
'', November/December 1997, vi
IEER
. Retrieved October 31, 2007. A 1979 study reported in the ''New England Journal of Medicine
''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals as well as the oldest continuously published one.
Hist ...
'' concluded that:
A significant excess of leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
deaths occurred in children up to 14 years of age living in Utah between 1959 and 1967. This excess was concentrated in the cohort of children born between 1951 and 1958, and was most pronounced in those residing in counties receiving high fallout.
In 1982, a lawsuit brought by nearly 1,200 people accused the government of negligence in atomic and/or nuclear weapons testing at the site, which they said had caused leukemia and other cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
s. Dr. Karl Z. Morgan, Director of Health Physics at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a U.S. multiprogram science and technology national laboratory sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and administered, managed, and operated by UT–Battelle as a federally funded research and ...
, testified that radiation protection measures in the tests were substandard to best practices at the time.[Karl Z. Morgan, 91, Founder of the Field Of Health Physics, Dies in Tennessee](_blank)
/ref>
In a report by the National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...
, released in 1997, it was determined that 90 atmospheric tests at the site deposited high levels of radioactive
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consid ...
iodine
Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...
-131 131 may refer to:
*131 (number)
*AD 131
*131 BC
*131 (album), the album by Emarosa
*131 (MBTA bus), the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus. For the MBTA bus, see 131 (MBTA bus).
*131 (New Jersey bus), the New Jersey Transit bus
{{numbe ...
(5.5 exabecquerels) across much of the contiguous United States, especially in the years 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1957 — doses large enough, it claimed, to produce 10,000 to 75,000 cases of thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. C ...
. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
The United States Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) is a federal statute providing for the monetary compensation of people, including atomic veterans, who contracted cancer and a number of other specified diseases as a direct result of t ...
of 1990 allowed for people living downwind of the site for at least two years in particular Nevada, Arizona, or Utah counties, between January 21, 1951, and October 31, 1958, or June 30 and July 31, 1962, and suffering from certain cancers or other serious illnesses deemed to have been caused by fallout exposure to receive compensation of $50,000. By 2014, over 28,000 downwinder claims for a total compensation of $1.9 billion had been processed. Additionally, the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) was passed by Congress in 2000 and is designed to compensate individuals who worked in nuclear weapons production and as a result of occupational exposures contracted certa ...
Act of 2000 provides compensation and medical benefits for nuclear weapons workers who may have developed certain work-related illnesses.
Uranium miners, mill workers, and ore transporters are also eligible for $100,000 compassionate payment under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program, while $75,000 is the fixed payment amount for workers who were participants in the above-ground nuclear weapons tests.
Nuclear test series carried out at the site
* Operation Ranger
Operation Ranger was the fourth American nuclear test series. It was conducted in 1951 and was the first series to be carried out at the Nevada Test Site.
All the bombs were dropped by B-50D bombers and exploded in the open air over Frenchma ...
— 1951
* Operation Buster–Jangle
Operation Buster–Jangle was a series of seven (six atmospheric, one cratering) nuclear weapons tests conducted by the United States in late 1951 at the Nevada Test Site. ''Buster–Jangle'' was the first joint test program between the DOD ...
— 1951
* Operation Tumbler–Snapper
Operation Tumbler–Snapper was a series of nuclear weapons tests conducted by the United States in early 1952 at the Nevada Test Site. The ''Tumbler–Snapper'' series of tests followed ''Operation Buster–Jangle'' and preceded ''Operation Iv ...
— 1952
* Operation Upshot–Knothole
Operation Upshot–Knothole was a series of eleven nuclear test shots conducted in 1953 at the Nevada Test Site. It followed ''Operation Ivy'' and preceded ''Operation Castle''.
Over 21,000 soldiers took part in the ground exercise Desert Ro ...
— 1953
* Operation Teapot
Operation Teapot was a series of 14 nuclear test explosions conducted at the Nevada Test Site in the first half of 1955. It was preceded by ''Operation Castle'', and followed by ''Operation Wigwam''. ''Wigwam'' was, administratively, a part of ...
— 1955
* Project 56 — 1955
* Operation Plumbbob
Operation Plumbbob was a series of nuclear tests that were conducted between May 28 and October 7, 1957, at the Nevada Test Site, following ''Project 57'', and preceding '' Project 58/58A''.
Background
The operation consisted of 29 explosions ...
— 1957
* Project 57
Project 57 was an open-air nuclear test conducted by the United States at the Nellis Air Force Range in 1957, following Operation Redwing, and preceding Operation Plumbbob. The test area, also known as Area 13, was a by block of land ...
, Project 58/58A — 1957–1958
* Operation Hardtack II
Operation Hardtack II was a series of 37 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1958 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the ''Operation Argus'' series and preceded the ''Operation Nougat'' series.
With test moratoriums on ...
— 1958
* Operation Nougat
Operation Nougat was a series of 44 nuclear tests conducted (with one exception) at the Nevada Test Site in 1961 and 1962, immediately after the Soviet Union abrogated a testing moratorium, with the US' ''Mink'' test shot taking place the day ...
— 1961–1962
* Operation Plowshare
Project Plowshare was the overall United States program for the development of techniques to use nuclear explosives for peaceful construction purposes. The program was organized in June 1957 as part of the worldwide Atoms for Peace efforts. As ...
— 1961–1973 (sporadic, at least one test a year)
* Operation Sunbeam
Operation Sunbeam (also known as Operation Dominic II) was a series of four nuclear tests conducted at the United States's Nevada Test Site in 1962. ''Operation Sunbeam'' tested tactical nuclear warheads; the most notable was the ''Davy Crocket ...
(aka Dominic II) — 1962
* Operation Dominic
Operation Dominic was a series of 31 nuclear test explosions with a total yield conducted in 1962 by the United States in the Pacific. This test series was scheduled quickly, in order to respond in kind to the Soviet resumption of testing af ...
— 1962–1963
* Operation Storax
Operation Storax was a series of 47 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1962–1963 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the ''Operation Fishbowl'' series and preceded the ''Operation Roller Coaster'' series.
British test ...
— 1963
* Operation Niblick
The United States's Niblick nuclear test series was a group of 41 nuclear tests conducted in 1963–1964. These tests A bomb test may be a salvo test, defined as two or more explosions "where a period of time between successive individual explo ...
— 1963–1964
* Operation Whetstone
The United States's Whetstone nuclear test series was a group of 46 nuclear test
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, Nuclear weapon yield, yield, and explosive capability. Testing ...
— 1964–1965
* Operation Flintlock — 1965–1966
* Operation Latchkey
Operation Latchkey was a series of 38 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1966–1967 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the '' Operation Flintlock (nuclear test)'' series and preceded the ''Operation Crosstie
Operat ...
— 1966–1967
* Operation Crosstie
Operation Crosstie was a series of 48 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1967–1968 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the ''Operation Latchkey'' series and preceded the ''Operation Bowline'' series.
Nuclear tests
Gas ...
— 1967–1968
* Operation Bowline
The United States's Bowline nuclear test series was a group of 47 nuclear tests conducted in 1968–1969. These testsA bomb test may be a salvo test, defined as two or more explosions "where a period of time between successive individual explo ...
— 1968–1969
* Operation Mandrel
The United States's Mandrel nuclear test series was a group of 52 nuclear tests conducted in 1969–1970. These tests followed the ''Operation Bowline'' series and preceded the ''Operation Emery'' series.
References
{{US Nuclear Tests
...
— 1969–1970
* Operation Emery
The United States's Emery nuclear test series was a group of 16 nuclear weapons test
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons o ...
— 1970
* Operation Grommet
The United States's Grommet nuclear test series was a group of 34 nuclear tests conducted in 1971–1972. These testsA bomb test may be a salvo test, defined as two or more explosions "where a period of time between successive individual explos ...
— 1971–1972
* Operation Toggle
The United States's Toggle nuclear test series was a group of 28 nuclear tests conducted in 1972–1973. These tests A bomb test may be a salvo test, defined as two or more explosions "where a period of time between successive individual explo ...
— 1972–1973
* Operation Arbor — 1973–1974
* Operation Bedrock — 1974–1975
* Operation Anvil — 1975–1976
* Operation Fulcrum
The United States's Fulcrum nuclear test series was a group of 21 nuclear tests conducted in 1976–1977. These tests A bomb test may be a salvo test, defined as two or more explosions "where a period of time between successive individual expl ...
— 1976–1977
* Operation Cresset
The United States's Cresset nuclear test series was a group of 22 nuclear test
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, Nuclear weapon yield, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nu ...
— 1977–1978
* Operation Quicksilver — 1978–1979
* Operation Tinderbox
Operation Tinderbox was a series of 14 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1979–1980 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the ''Operation Quicksilver (1978), Operation Quicksilver'' series and preceded the ''Operation Gua ...
— 1979–1980
* Operation Guardian
Operation Guardian was a series of 14 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1980–1981 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the ''Operation Tinderbox'' series and preceded the ''Operation Praetorian'' series.
Referenc ...
— 1980–1981
* Operation Praetorian
The United States's Praetorian nuclear test series was a group of 19 nuclear tests conducted in 1981–1982. These tests A bomb test may be a salvo test, defined as two or more explosions "where a period of time between successive individual ex ...
— 1981–1982
* Operation Phalanx
The United States's Phalanx nuclear test series was a group of 18 nuclear tests conducted in 1982–1983. These tests A bomb test may be a salvo test, defined as two or more explosions "where a period of time between successive individual expl ...
— 1982–1983
* Operation Fusileer
Operation Fusileer was a series of 16 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1983–1984 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the ''Operation Phalanx
The United States's Phalanx nuclear test series was a group of 18 nuc ...
— 1983–1984
* Operation Grenadier
Operation Grenadier was a series of 16 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1984–1985 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the ''Operation Fusileer'' series and preceded the ''Operation Charioteer'' series.
References ...
— 1984–1985
* Operation Charioteer
Operation Charioteer was a series of 16 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1985–1986 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the ''Operation Grenadier
Operation Grenadier was a series of 16 nuclear tests conducted by ...
— 1985–1986
* Operation Musketeer — 1986–1987
* Operation Touchstone — 1987–1988
* Operation Cornerstone — 1988–1989
* Operation Aqueduct — 1989–1990
* Operation Sculpin — 1990–1991
* Operation Julin — 1991–1992
Areas
The site is broken down into areas. Some of the areas and their uses include the following:
Area 1
Area 1 held eight nuclear tests for a total of nine detonations.
Four early atmospheric tests were conducted above Area 1 in the early 1950s, as well as three underground tests in 1971 and 1990. In 1955, a Civil Defense
Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, miti ...
experiment (called Operation Cue
Operation Teapot was a series of 14 nuclear test explosions conducted at the Nevada Test Site in the first half of 1955. It was preceded by ''Operation Castle'', and followed by '' Operation Wigwam''. ''Wigwam'' was, administratively, a part of ...
in the press) studied nuclear blast effects on various building types; a few structures still stand.
Heavy drilling equipment and concrete construction facilities are sited in Area 1. Non-destructive X-ray, gamma ray, and subcritical detonation tests continue to be conducted in Area 1.
The radioactivity present on the ground in Area 1 provides a radiologically contaminated environment for the training of first responders
A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency, such as an accident, disaster, medical emergency, structure fire, crime, or terr ...
.
Area 2
Area 2 was the site of 144 tests comprising 169 detonations. Shot "Gabbs" was intended for early 1993 but was cancelled in 1992.
Area 3
Area 3 held 266 nuclear tests for a total of 288 detonations, including Upshot-Knothole 'Harry', more than in any other area of the site.
As part of Operation Tinderbox
Operation Tinderbox was a series of 14 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1979–1980 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the ''Operation Quicksilver (1978), Operation Quicksilver'' series and preceded the ''Operation Gua ...
, on June 24, 1980, a large satellite prototype (DSCS III
The Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) is a United States Space Force satellite constellation that provides the United States with military communications to support globally distributed military users. Beginning in 2007, DSCS is be ...
) was subjected to radioactivity from the "Huron King" shot in a vertical line-of-sight (VLOS) test undertaken in Area 3. This was a program to improve the database on nuclear hardening design techniques for defense satellites.
The final nuclear test detonation at site was Operation Julin's "Divider" on September 23, 1992, just prior to the moratorium ending all nuclear testing. Divider was a safety experiment test shot that was detonated at the bottom of a shaft sunk into Area 3.
In 1995 and 1997, plutonium-contaminated soil from "Double Tracks" and "Clean Slate 1" of Operation Roller Coaster (1963) was picked up from the Tonopah Test Range
The Tonopah Test Range (TTR, also designated as Area 52) is a highly classified, restricted military installation of the United States Department of Defense, and United States Department of Energy ( nuclear stockpile stewardship) located about ...
and brought to the Area 3 Radioactive Waste Management Site as a first step in eventually returning Tonopah Test Range to an environmentally neutral state. Corrective action regarding the contaminated material from the "Clean Slate 2" and "Clean Slate 3" tests has yet to be agreed upon.
Area 4
Area 4 held 40 nuclear tests for a total of 44 detonations.
It is home to the Big Explosives Experimental Facility (BEEF).[''Nevada Test Site Guide'', National Nuclear Security Administration]
DOE/NV-715
Area 5
Area 5 held 19 nuclear tests.
Five atmospheric tests were detonated, starting on January 27, 1951, at Area 5 as part of Operation Ranger
Operation Ranger was the fourth American nuclear test series. It was conducted in 1951 and was the first series to be carried out at the Nevada Test Site.
All the bombs were dropped by B-50D bombers and exploded in the open air over Frenchma ...
. These were the first nuclear tests at the site. Further tower detonations were studied at Area 5, and the '' Grable'' shot which was fired from a M65 Atomic Cannon located in Area 11 exploded in Area 5. The ''Priscilla
Priscilla is an English female given name adopted from Latin ''Prisca'', derived from ''priscus''. One suggestion is that it is intended to bestow long life on the bearer.
The name first appears in the New Testament of Christianity variously as ...
'' test was conducted at Area 5 on June 24, 1957.
Five underground tests were set up at Area 5; four of those included accidental release of radioactive materials. On March 16, 1968, physicist Glenn T. Seaborg
Glenn Theodore Seaborg (; April 19, 1912February 25, 1999) was an American chemist whose involvement in the synthesis, discovery and investigation of ten transuranium elements earned him a share of the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His work i ...
toured the upcoming ''Milk Shake'' shot of Operation Crosstie
Operation Crosstie was a series of 48 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1967–1968 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the ''Operation Latchkey'' series and preceded the ''Operation Bowline'' series.
Nuclear tests
Gas ...
.[Radiochemistry.org. History. Nuke tests](_blank)
''Nevada Test Site Images'' (cdrom 3; PDF file)
''Milk Shake''s radioactive release was not detected outside of the site's boundaries.
Area 6
Area 6 held four nuclear tests for a total of six detonations. The area features an asphalt runway, that was constructed on top of a dirt landing strip, that had existed since the 1950s. Some buildings, including a hangar, are situated near the runway.
The Device Assembly Facility (DAF) was originally built to consolidate nuclear explosives assembly operations. It now serves as the Criticality Experiments Facility (CEF).
The Control Point is the communication hub of the site. It was used by controllers to trigger and monitor nuclear test explosions.
In 1982, while a live nuclear bomb was being lowered underground, the base came under attack by armed combatants. The combatants turned out to be a security team conducting an improperly scheduled drill.
Area 7
Area 7 held 92 nuclear tests.
During Operation Buster, four successful tests were conducted via airdrop, with bomber aircraft releasing nuclear weapons over Area 7.
It is also the site of Matthew Reilly's book called '' Area 7''.
Shot "Icecap" planned for 1993 was abandoned in Area 7 following 1992's testing moratorium. The tower, shaft and wiring remain in place, along with a crane intended to lower the nuclear test package into the shaft.
Area 8
Area 8 held 13 nuclear tests for a total of 15 detonations.
Area 8 hosted the "Baneberry" shot of Operation Emery
The United States's Emery nuclear test series was a group of 16 nuclear weapons test
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons o ...
on December 18, 1970. The Baneberry test detonated below the surface but its energy cracked the soil in unexpected ways, causing a fissure near ground zero and the failure of the shaft stemming and cap. A plume of fire and dust was released, raining fallout on workers in different locations within the site. The radioactive plume released of radioactive material, including of Iodine131.
Area 9
Area 9 held 115 nuclear tests for a total of 133 detonations.
In Area 9, the "Hood" test on July 5, 1957, part of Operation Plumbbob
Operation Plumbbob was a series of nuclear tests that were conducted between May 28 and October 7, 1957, at the Nevada Test Site, following ''Project 57'', and preceding '' Project 58/58A''.
Background
The operation consisted of 29 explosions ...
, was the largest atmospheric test ever conducted within the continental United States; nearly five times larger in yield than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. A balloon carried Hood up to 460 meters above the ground where it was detonated. Over 2,000 troops took part in the test in order to train them in conducting operations on the nuclear battlefield. of iodine-131
Iodine-131 (131I, I-131) is an important radioisotope of iodine discovered by Glenn Seaborg and John Livingood in 1938 at the University of California, Berkeley. It has a radioactive decay half-life of about eight days. It is associated with nuc ...
(131I) were released into the air.
Area 10
Area 10 held 57 nuclear tests for a total of 71 detonations.
The first underground test at the site was the "Uncle" shot of Operation Jangle
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Operation (game), ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* Operations (magazine ...
. Uncle detonated on November 29, 1951, within a shaft sunk into Area 10.
The "John" shot of Plumbbob, on July 19, 1957, was the first test firing of the nuclear-tipped AIR-2 Genie
The Douglas AIR-2 Genie (previous designation MB-1) was an unguided air-to-air rocket with a 1.5 kt W25 nuclear warhead. It was deployed by the United States Air Force (USAF 1957–1985) and Canada (Royal Canadian Air Force 1965–68, Air Com ...
air-to-air rocket designed to destroy incoming enemy bombers with a nuclear explosion. The warhead exploded approximately three miles above five volunteers and a photographer who stood unprotected at "ground zero" in Area 10 to show the safety of battlefield nuclear weapons to personnel on the ground. The test also demonstrated the ability of a fighter aircraft to deliver a nuclear-tipped rocket and avoid being destroyed in the process. A Northrop F-89J
The Northrop F-89 Scorpion was an American all-weather, twin-engined interceptor aircraft built during the 1950s, the first jet-powered aircraft designed for that role from the outset to enter service. Though its straight wings limited its per ...
fired the rocket.
The "Sedan" test of Operation Storax
Operation Storax was a series of 47 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1962–1963 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the ''Operation Fishbowl'' series and preceded the ''Operation Roller Coaster'' series.
British test ...
on July 6, 1962, a shot for the Operation Plowshare
Project Plowshare was the overall United States program for the development of techniques to use nuclear explosives for peaceful construction purposes. The program was organized in June 1957 as part of the worldwide Atoms for Peace efforts. As ...
which sought to discover whether nuclear weapons could be used for peaceful means in creating lakes, bays or canals. The explosion displaced 12 million tons of earth, creating the Sedan crater
Sedan Crater is the result of the Sedan (nuclear test), Sedan Nuclear weapons testing, nuclear test and is located within the Nevada Test Site, southwest of Groom Lake, Nevada (Area 51). The crater was listed on the National Register of Historic ...
which is 1,280 feet (390 m) wide and 320 feet (100 m) deep.
Area 11
Area 11 held 9 nuclear tests.
Four of the tests were weapons safety experiments conducted as Project 56; they spread so much radioactive material that Area 11 has been called "Plutonium Valley". As is the case with Area 1, background radiation levels make Area 11 suitable for realistic training in methods of radiation detection.
Area 12
Area 12 held 61 nuclear tests between 1957 and 1992, one of which involved two detonations. All tests were conducted below Rainier and Aqueduct mesas.
Area 12 was the primary location for tunnel tests and used almost exclusively for that purpose. The tunnel complexes mined into Rainier and Aqueduct Mesa include the B-, C-, D-, E-, F-, G-, I-, J-, K-, N-, P-, and T-Tunnel complexes, and the R- and S- shafts.
Area 13
There is no Area 13 within NNSS, though such a name is attached to a section of Nellis Air Force Range
The Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) is one of two military training areas at the Nellis Air Force Base Complex in Nevada and used by the United States Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base. The NTTR land area includes a "sim ...
which abuts the northeastern corner of Area 15. Project 57
Project 57 was an open-air nuclear test conducted by the United States at the Nellis Air Force Range in 1957, following Operation Redwing, and preceding Operation Plumbbob. The test area, also known as Area 13, was a by block of land ...
's weapons safety test was conducted here on April 24, 1957, spreading particles emitting alpha radiation over a large area.
Area 14
Area 14 occupies approximately in the central portion of the NNSS. Various outdoor experiments are conducted in this area.[National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office, ''Draft Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement Nevada'', ch.2, July 2011]
DOE/EIS-246-D
No atmospheric or underground nuclear tests were conducted in Area 14.
Area 15
Three underground detonations took place in area 15 in the 1960s.
''Pile Driver'' was a notable Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
test. A large underground installation was built to study the survivability of hardened underground bunkers undergoing a nuclear attack. Information from the test was used in designing hardened missile silos and the North American Aerospace Defense Command
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...
facility in Colorado Springs.
The abandoned Crystal and Climax mines are found in Area 15. Storage tanks hold contaminated materials.
From 1964 to 1981, the Environmental Protection Agency
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
operated a experimental farm in Area 15. Extensive plant and soil studies evaluated the uptake of pollutants in farm-grown vegetables and from the forage eaten by a dairy herd of some 30 Holstein cows. Scientists also studied horses, pigs, goats, and chickens.
Area 16
Area 16 held six nuclear tests.
Area 17
No nuclear tests took place in Area 17.
Area 18
Area 18 held five nuclear tests and includes the Pahute Mesa Airstrip
Pahute Mesa Airstrip is a private-use airport located northwest of the central business district of Mercury, Nevada, Mercury, in Nye County, Nevada, Nye County, Nevada, United States. The airport is owned by the United States Department of Ener ...
.
Area 19
Pahute Mesa is one of four major nuclear test regions within the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). It occupies in the northwest corner of the NNSS. The eastern section is known as Area 19 and the western section as Area 20.
A total of 85 nuclear tests were conducted in Pahute Mesa between 1965 and 1992. Three of them — Boxcar, Benham and Handley — had a yield of over one megaton. Three tests were conducted as part of Operation Plowshare
Project Plowshare was the overall United States program for the development of techniques to use nuclear explosives for peaceful construction purposes. The program was organized in June 1957 as part of the worldwide Atoms for Peace efforts. As ...
and one as part of Vela Uniform.
Area 20
The western section of Pahute Mesa, with a portion of the 85 nuclear tests conducted in the Pahute Mesa occurring in this section.
Area 21
There is no Area 21 within NNSS, though such a name is attached to a section of Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, ...
.[Gizmodo. ''Why Is It Called Area 51''](_blank)
/ref>
Area 22
No nuclear tests took place in Area 22. Area 22 once held Camp Desert Rock
Desert Rock was the code name of a series of exercises conducted by the US military in conjunction with atmospheric Nuclear weapons testing, nuclear tests. They were carried out at the Nevada National Security Site, Nevada Proving Grounds between ...
, a staging base for troops undergoing atmospheric nuclear blast training; as many as 9,000 troops camped there in 1955. Desert Rock Airport's runway was enlarged to a length in 1969 by the Atomic Energy Commission. It is a transport hub for personnel and supplies going to NNSS and also serves as an emergency landing strip.
Area 23
No nuclear tests took place in Area 23. The town of Mercury, Nevada
Mercury is a closed village in Nye County, Nevada, United States, north of U.S. Route 95 at a point northwest of Las Vegas. It is situated within the Nevada National Security Site and was constructed by the Atomic Energy Commission to hou ...
lies within Area 23. The area is the main pathway to and from NNSS test locations by way of U.S. Route 95
US Route 95 (US 95) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highways, US Highway in the western United States. It travels through the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho, staying inland from the Pacific Coast ...
. An open sanitary landfill is located to the west of Mercury, and a closed hazardous waste site abuts the landfill. Mercury is also the main management area for the site which includes a bar and large cafeteria, printing plant, medical center, warehousing, fleet management, liquidation and recycling center, engineering offices, dormitories, and other administrative areas for both the O&M contractors, LLNL, LANL, and SNL personnel. At its height in the 1950s and '60s, it also held several restaurants, a bowling alley, a movie theater, and a motel.
Area 24
There is no Area 24 within NNSS, though such a name is attached to a satellite site of the NNSS referred to as the North Las Vegas Facility.
Area 25
Area 26
No nuclear tests took place in Area 26, the most arid section of the NNSS. An old abandoned mine, the Horn Silver Mine, was used for waste disposal between 1959 and the 1970s; some of the waste is radioactive. Water flow past the shaft could pose a human health risk, so corrective action has been planned.
In 1983 the Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
, the Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rel ...
, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
performed the NUWAX-83 tests near Port Gaston in Area 26, simulating the explosion of a nuclear-armed helicopter and the resulting spread of nuclear debris over 65 acres. The radioactive material used to simulate the accident became inert in less than six months.
An eight-square-mile complex was constructed in Area 26 in support of Project Pluto
Project Pluto was a United States government program to develop nuclear-powered ramjet engines for use in cruise missiles. Two experimental engines were tested at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) in 1961 and 1964 respectively.
On 1 January 1957, th ...
. It consisted of six miles of roads, the critical assembly building, the control building, the assembly and shop buildings, and utilities. Those buildings have been used recently as mock reactor facilities in the training of first responders
A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency, such as an accident, disaster, medical emergency, structure fire, crime, or terr ...
.
Area 27
Area 28
Area 28 no longer exists; it was absorbed into Areas 25 and 27.
Area 29
No nuclear tests took place in Area 29. The rugged terrain of Area 29 serves as a buffer between other areas of NNSS. A helipad
A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft.
While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard s ...
is present at Shoshone Peak.
Area 30
Area 30 occupies approximately at the center of the western edge of the NNSS. Area 30 has rugged terrain and includes the northern reaches of Fortymile Canyon. It is used primarily for military training and exercises.
Area 30 was the site of a single nuclear test, the ''Crosstie Buggy
Operation Crosstie was a series of 48 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1967–1968 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the '' Operation Latchkey'' series and preceded the '' Operation Bowline'' series.
Nuclear tests
G ...
'' row charge experiment, part of Operation Plowshare
Project Plowshare was the overall United States program for the development of techniques to use nuclear explosives for peaceful construction purposes. The program was organized in June 1957 as part of the worldwide Atoms for Peace efforts. As ...
, which involved five simultaneous detonations.
See also
* Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents
These are lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents.
Main lists
* List of attacks on nuclear plants
* List of Chernobyl-related articles
* List of civilian nuclear accidents
* List of civilian radiation accidents
* List of cri ...
*Savannah River Site
The Savannah River Site (SRS) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reservation in the United States in the state of South Carolina, located on land in Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell counties adjacent to the Savannah River, southeast of August ...
– the DoE reservation with similar operations as NTS
* Semipalatinsk Test Site
The Semipalatinsk Test Site (Russian language, Russian: Семипалатинск-21; Semipalatinsk-21), also known as "The Polygon", was the primary testing venue for the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons. It is located on the steppe in northeast ...
* Novaya Zemlya Test Site
* Area 51
Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force Base, the facility is officially called Homey Airport ...
/ Area 52
* Totskoye nuclear exercise
The Totskoye nuclear exercise was a military exercise undertaken by the Soviet Army to explore defensive and offensive warfare during nuclear war. The exercise, under the code name "Snowball", involved an aerial detonation of a 40 kt RDS-4 ...
* International Day against Nuclear Tests
The International Day against Nuclear Tests is observed on August 29. It was established on December 2, 2009, at the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly by the resolution 64/35, which was adopted unanimously.
The resolution in p ...
References
External links
DOE Nevada Test Site
The Nevada Test Site Oral History Project
Origins of the Nevada Test Site
''Atomic Test Effects In The Nevada Test Site Region'' published by the AEC in 1955, a document with a civilian audience in mind.
Account of NTS fallout in 1955
(PDF)
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...
(1997)
* ttps://archive.today/20130117072231/http://www.atomcentral.com/nts.html Images of the Nevada Test Siteon the atomic bomb website
* Location maps:
*
Small map
*
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060721233704/http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=places%2FNevada+Test+Site%2C+Nevada Annotated bibliography for the Nevada Test Site from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues]
'Exposed' spreads anti-nuke message
Nevada Test Site aerial photos
by Doc Searles
David "Doc" Searls (born July 29, 1947), is an American journalist, columnist, and a widely read blogger. He is the host of FLOSS Weekly, a free and open-source software (FLOSS) themed netcast from the TWiT Network, a co-author of '' The Cluetr ...
, all licensed Creative Commons
Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has release ...
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{{Authority control
American nuclear test sites
Nevada historical markers
Geography of Nye County, Nevada
Tourist attractions in Nye County, Nevada
Continuity of government in the United States
Historic American Engineering Record in Nevada
Environmental disasters in the United States
British nuclear test sites
Atomic tourism
1951 establishments in Nevada