ExposureBlog

Sometime between June 2 and June 23, the military will detonate about 700 tons of high explosive at the Nevada Test Site’s Area 16.  The Department of Energy has published an extensive document discussing this shot.  However, according to this map–from the DOE library and published in August, 2005, it appears that the soil in Area 16 has relatively high concentrations of plutonium. 

The Nevada Test Site is divided into rectangular-shaped areas, with Areas 12 and 15 representing the northeast corner of the NTS.  Interestingly, Area 16–where the shot is scheduled to be detonated–is adjacent to Area 1—both found at the dead center of the NTS.  Just east of Area 1 is Area 3.  According to the map, the center points of Area 3 is only 8 miles east-northeast of Area 16–a walking distance of about two hours.

No aboveground nuclear tests that have been detonated at Area 16, and there was only one burst that took place just a few miles due east at Area 1–the 12-kiloton Tumbler-Snapper Easy (May 7, 1952.)  According to my copy of DASA 1251 the plume from EASY extended due north—and not west toward Area 16.

There were, however, many above-ground tests that took place at Area 3: George, Annie (, Simon, Harry (, Apple 2, Moth, Hornet, Pascal A, Pascal B, Franklin, Coulomb A, Coulomb B, Flzeau and Galileo. 

The smaller devices detonated at Area 3 included: Colfax, Luna, Bernalillo, San Juan, Otero, Valencia, Humbolt, Catron, Rio Arriba and Chaves.

Most of the debris clouds from these shots drifted north and east, but the Coulomb B cloud traveled west, directly over Area 16.  Two other aboveground shots detonated from Area 3 also may have contaminated Area 16: the debris clouds from shots Fizeau and Galileo traveled northwest and may also have contaminated Area 16.

There were, in fact, some nuclear debris clouds that behaved so badly that they probably contaminated much of the entire Nevada Test Site.  Among this group were shot Turk (1955), and shots Kepler and Smoky (1957.)

While many radioisotopes decay to harmless (i.e. non-radioactive isotopes) within a few years, some last a long time.   According to the Hicks Tables several of the fallout components from the shots listed above are still active in appreciable quantities (i.e. >10E-8 microCuries/sq meter.)  Shot Smoky, for example produced radioisotopes Cobalt-60, Strontium-90, Yttrium-90, Cesium-137, and Europium-155 which are still active today.

I have not read DOE’s Divine Strake document yet.  I hope the document includes plans to either contain the still-radioactive debris onsite—or, if the cloud does somehow get offsite, plans and procedures to monitor for the radioisotopes that may spread across several states.