Peaceful Nuclear Explosions III Applications, Characteristics and Effects; Proceedings of a Technical Committee on the Practical Applications of the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Explosions Organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency and Held in Vienna 27 November - 1 December 1972 STI/PUB/367
Vienna: International Atomic Energy Agency, 1974. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Trade paperback. [12], 488 pages. Tables. Figures. Formulae. References. List of Participants. Some text in French, Spanish and Russian. Ex-library with the usual library markings. Moisture stains noted--all pages separated and text clear. Some smudging of library markings. This is one of the Panel Proceedings Series. The present proceedings contain four Statements on National Programmes, seven papers dealing with specific applications, six papers dealing with Phenomenology, seven papers dealing with radioactivity considerations, and four papers on seismic considerations. These are followed by a Summary and Conclusions. There were 28 papers presented and the panel was attended by participants form 31 countries and three international organizations. Among the topics addressed are: Explosive excavation, Dam construction, Retorting of Green River oil Shale, Canals, Chemical Mining, Copper suplhides, Reservoir creation, Craters, Engineering Structures, Rock Fracturing, Marvel--a nuclear shock-tube experiment, underground nuclear explosions, radiological accident prediction, radioisotope formation, Fallout prediction, Seismic Waves, and geophysics. Peaceful nuclear explosions (PNEs) are nuclear explosions conducted for non-military purposes. Proposed uses include excavation for the building of canals and harbors, electrical generation, the use of nuclear explosions to drive spacecraft, and as a form of wide-area fracking. PNEs were an area of some research from the late 1950s into the 1980s, primarily in the United States and Soviet Union. In the U.S., a series of tests were carried out under Project Plowshare. Some of the ideas considered included blasting a new Panama Canal, the use of underground explosions to create electricity,[citation needed] and a variety of geological studies. The largest of the excavation tests was carried out in the Sedan nuclear test in 1962, which released large amounts of radioactive gas into the air. By the late 1960s, public opposition to Plowshare was increasing, and a 1970s study of the economics of the concepts suggested they had no practical use. Plowshare saw decreasing interest from the 1960s, and was officially canceled in 1977. The Soviet program started a few years after the U.S. efforts and explored many of the same concepts under their Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy program. The program was more extensive, eventually conducting 239 nuclear explosions. Some of these tests also released radioactivity, including a significant release of plutonium into the groundwater and the polluting of an area near the Volga River. A major part of the program in the 1970s and 80s was the use of very small bombs to produce shock waves as a seismic measuring tool, and as part of these experiments, two bombs were successfully used to seal blown-out oil wells. The program officially ended in 1988. As part of ongoing arms control efforts, both programs came to be controlled by a variety of agreements. Most notable among these is the 1976 Treaty on Underground Nuclear Explosions for Peaceful Purposes (PNE Treaty). The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty of 1996 prohibits all nuclear explosions, regardless of whether they are for peaceful purposes or not. Since that time the topic has been raised several times, often as a method of asteroid impact avoidance. Condition: Fair.
Keywords: Peaceful Nuclear Explosions, PNE, Explosive excavation, Dam construction, Retorting of Green River oil Shale, Canals, Chemical Mining, Copper suplhides, Reservoir creation, Craters, Engineering Structures, Rock Fracturing, Marvel--a nuclear shock-tub
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