''Agate'' was the
codename of the first
French nuclear underground test. It was conducted by the Joint Special Weapons Command on 7 November 1961, at the Oasis Military Experiments Centre near
In Ekker
IN, In or in may refer to:
Places
* India (country code IN)
* Indiana, United States (postal code IN)
* Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN)
* In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Businesses and organizations
* Independ ...
,
French Algeria
French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...
at the Tan Afella in the
Hoggar Mountains, during the
Algerian War
The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...
.
It is named after the
Agate, a rock formation used in jewelry.
History
''Agate'' was the first test of the jewel designation series running from 1961 until 1966. Minor and major incidents occurred during these experiments, the most important being the
Béryl incident
The "Béryl incident" was a French nuclear test, conducted on May 1, 1962, during which nine soldiers of the 621st Groupe d'Armes Spéciales unit were heavily contaminated by radioactivity.
The test took place at In Eker, Algeria, then a French de ...
on May 1, 1962, where the nine militarymen of the ''621ème Groupe d'Armes Spéciales'' unit were heavily contaminated (600 mSv) as portrayed in the 2006 docudrama ''
Vive La Bombe!''. The French Defence Minister
Pierre Messmer
Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer (; 20 March 191629 August 2007) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Minister of Armies under Charles de Gaulle from 1960 to 1969 – the longest serving since Étienne François, duc de Choiseul under Lo ...
and other officials and civilians were present in the command post and were contaminated too (around >200 mSv).
Programme
*1961-11-07: Agate (
Agate): 10 kt
*1962-05-01: Béryl (
Beryl): 40 kt
*1963-03-18: Émeraude (
Emerald
Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...
): 10 kt
*1963-03-30: Améthyste (
Amethyst
Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek αμέθυστος ''amethystos'' from α- ''a-'', "not" and μεθύσκω (Ancient Greek) / μεθώ (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that t ...
): 2.5 kt
*1963-10-20: Rubis (
Ruby): 52 kt
*1964-02-14: Opale (
Opal): 3.7 kt
*1964-06-15: Topaze (
Topaz
Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al Si O( F, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural state is colorless, though trace element impurities can mak ...
): 2.5 kt
*1964-11-28: Turquoise (
Turquoise): 10 kt
*1965-02-27: Saphir (
Sapphire): 127 kt
*1965-05-30: Jade (
Jade
Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...
): 2.5 kt
*1965-10-01: Corindon (
Corundum
Corundum is a crystalline form of aluminium oxide () typically containing traces of iron, titanium, vanadium and chromium. It is a rock-forming mineral. It is a naturally transparent material, but can have different colors depending on the pres ...
): 2.5 kt
*1965-12-01: Tourmaline (
Tourmaline): 10 kt
*1966-02-16: Grenat (
Garnet): 13 kt
Known incidents
The
millisievert (mSv) is commonly used to measure the effective dose in diagnostic medical procedures. See
radiation poisoning for a more complete analysis of effects of various dosage levels.
*1962-05-01: Béryl casualties
:100 pers. (>50 mSv)
:15 pers. (>200 mSv)
:9 pers. (600 mSv)
:possibly 240 pers. (<2.5 mSv)
*1963-03-30: Améthyste casualties
:13 pers. (=10 mSv)
:280 pers. (<1 mSv)
*1963-10-20: Rubis casualties
:500 pers. (<0.2 mSv)
:undisclosed (= 0.01 mSv)
*1965-05-30 Jade casualties:
:undisclosed (<1 mSv)
Data provided by the French Defense Ministry in January 2007.
Defense.gouv.fr
See also
* '' Gerboise Bleue'' (French first atmospheric A-bomb)
* '' Canopus'' (French first atmospheric H-bomb)
* '' Force de Frappe''
* List of states with nuclear weapons
* Nuclear weapons and France
* History of nuclear weapons
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agathe (Atomic Test)
French nuclear weapons testing
1961 in France
1961 in Algeria