Plutonium Dispersal Tests at the Nevada Test Site; Nevada Test Site History DOE/NV - -1046

Las Vegas, NV: National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Site Office, Office of Public Affairs, 2005. Presumed First Edition, First printing thus. Single sheet, printed on both sides. Format is approximately 8.5 inches by 11 inches. Illustrations and text on both sides. The Nevada Test 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. (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 is covered with subsidence craters from the testing. The NTS was the United States' primary location for tests smaller than 1 Mt (4.2 PJ). 126 tests were conducted elsewhere, including most larger tests. Many of these occurred at the Pacific Proving Grounds in the Marshall Islands. The last atmospheric test detonation at the Nevada Test Site was "Little Feller I" of Operation Sunbeam, on July 17, 1962. Operation Roller Coaster was a series of 4 nuclear tests conducted by the United Kingdom in 1963 at the Nevada Test Site to measure plutonium dispersal risk. These experiments were safety tests, the purpose of which were to determine whether a weapon or warhead damaged in an accident would detonate with a nuclear yield, even if some or all of the high explosive components burned or detonated. The procedure for these tests was to fault the test bomb by removing a detonator wire, or perhaps all but one, for example, possibly enhancing the weapon with extra initiators or an especially enriched core, and then to fire the weapon normally. If there is any nuclear yield in the firing, then the test is deemed a failure from a safety standpoint. A successful test will measure only the chemical explosive in the test bomb exploding, which still, of course, blasts the bomb core and causes the core material to be spread over a wide area if the test is in open air, as all the Project 56 tests were. Over 895 acres (362 ha) of Area 11 at the NTS were contaminated with plutonium dust and fragments. The area has become known as Plutonium Valley, and continues to be used on an intermittent basis for realistic drills in radiological monitoring and sampling operations. The Project 57 test site was added to the NTS as Area 13, an approximately 10-by-16-mile block of land abutting the northeast boundary of the Test Site. Ground Zero for the shot was only five miles northwest of Groom Lake and seven miles from the main cantonment area of the airbase. A formerly secret AEC report dated 14 March 1957 described the new test area, stating that it "is not contaminated to a degree that would effect the experiment, and, when contaminated, will not interfere with the conduct of the PLUMBBOB nuclear tests which are scheduled to begin in May 1957. The Armed Forces Special Weapons Project has obtained approval for the use of the land for the test." The XW-25 warhead was flown to the airstrip at Yucca Flat, then moved to Area 13 for final placement. The Project 57 shot was originally scheduled for early April, but was pushed back several times.
Finally, on the morning of 24 April, the signal was sent to the detonator, and the warhead's high explosive charge destroyed the weapon. Although there had been no obvious atomic explosion, a three-man team in protective clothing was dispatched to determine whether or not any beta or gamma radiation hazard existed from a partial nuclear yield. There was none, but all personnel entering the area were required to wear full protective suits and respirators to shield themselves from alpha radiation emitted by plutonium.
Condition: Very good.

Keywords: Nevada Test Site, Plutonium, Dispersal Tests, Sealed Pits, Project 56, Project 57, Operation Roller Coaster, Area 11, Area 13, Radioactive Waste Management, Radiological Contamination

[Book #81042]

Price: $15.00