Atmospheric Testing Legacy Conference; Tuesday, February 24 and Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Kirtland Air Force Base, NM: HQ Air Force Safety Center, The Information Preservation System Program, 2004. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. 14 sheets, printed on one side only. Includes some participant biographies. Color illustration on front sheet. Stapled in the upper left corner. Scarce ephemeral item. Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Most nations that developed nuclear weapons tested them. Testing nuclear weapons can yield information about how the weapons work, as well as how the weapons behave under various conditions and how personnel, structures, and equipment behave when subjected to nuclear explosions. Nuclear testing has often been used as an indicator of scientific and military strength, most nuclear weapons states publicly declared their nuclear status by means of a nuclear test. The first nuclear device was detonated as a test by the United States at the Trinity site on July 16, 1945, with a yield approximately equivalent to 20 kilotons of TNT. The first thermonuclear weapon technology test of engineer device, codenamed "Ivy Mike", was tested at the Enewetak atoll in the Marshall Islands on November 1, 1952 (local date), also by the United States. In 1963, three (UK, US, Soviet Union) of the four nuclear states and many non-nuclear states signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty, pledging to refrain from testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, underwater, or in outer space. The treaty permitted underground nuclear testing. France continued atmospheric testing until 1974, and China continued until 1980. Neither has signed the treaty. The Air Force Safety Center mission is to Prevent Mishaps – Preserve Combat Capability. The Air Force Safety Center develops, implements, executes and evaluates Air Force aviation, ground, weapons, space and system mishap prevention and nuclear surety programs and policy. The center oversees mishap investigations, evaluates corrective actions, ensures implementation and maintains the mishap database Air Force-wide. It also conducts research to promote safety awareness/mishap prevention and develops and directs safety and risk management education and media programs for all safety disciplines. It also develops and directs safety and operational risk management education. The Weapons Safety Division establishes and defines Air Force nuclear surety and safety policy for the development and operational use of all nuclear, conventional and directed energy (DE) weapons systems. The division oversees the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Surety Program, delegated from the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff of the Air Force. The division provides nuclear, conventional and DE weapons systems safety design certification, Hazard of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordnance certification, Air Force explosives safety standards, explosive siting reviews, weapons safety consultation and Federal Department of Agriculture waivers for DE systems. The division also performs radiation safety oversight, explosives hazard classifications, mishap prevention programs, mishap investigation, and staff assistance in its areas of responsibility. The division leadership chairs several multi-agency boards performing safety oversight for all nuclear, conventional and DE (laser and radio-frequency) weapons. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Nuclear Weapons, Atmospheric Testing, Trinity Test, Ben Benjamin, Air Sampling, Paul Guthals, Bryon Ristvet, Weapon Intern Program, Nevada Test Site, Harold Rarrick, Radiation Safety, Sandia National Laboratories, Leon Smith, Martha DeMarre, Barton H
[Book #73421]
Price: $50.00