This morning in 1970, Baneberry—a 10-kiloton, weapons-related, underground nuclear test 912 feet beneath the Nevada Test Site—accidentally vented, releasing 80,000 curies of radioactive iodine-131, more than any other US underground test. For more, see: ctbto.org/specials/testi…
NTS workers were quickly evacuated and 900 were radiologically surveyed. Of these 86 were decontaminated onsite, with 66 of these individuals sent to Mercury, Nevada, for thyroid measurements (chart). Eighteen of those workers received whole body count measurements in Las Vegas.
According to a 1971 AEC report, “no exposure on onsite personnel was in excess of the occupational standards in AEC or Federal Radiation Council occupational guides for normal peacetime operations.” The highest exposures were received by two security guards in Area 12.
Those two security guards, Harley Roberts and William Nunamaker—who were ordered evacuate NTS workers in the path of the radioactive cloud and spent an hour inside it as a result—died of acute myeloid leukemia within four years of the accident. Their story is told in this book:
More than 500 privately-owned onsite vehicles were radiologically surveyed; more than 400 were contaminated. All but 86 “were decontaminated utilizing water spray and vacuum cleaners” and returned. The 86 more contaminated vehicles underwent a more thorough decontamination.
To detect and track offsite contamination, the AEC relied on a network of air sampling stations. In addition “the Standby Milk Network was activated in California, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah.” Radioactive iodine-131 was detected in milk in all five states and in Nevada.
Further environmental sampling was conducted in those states and in Arizona, Minnesota, Montana, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The AEC estimated 4,000-5,000 people were in Tonopah, Nevada, and surrounding ranches and small communities where ground contamination was found.
Here is the Atomic Energy Commission’s summary report about the Baneberry accidental venting, which continued for 24 hours after detonation. Because the cause was unknown, all underground testing was suspended for six months while the AEC investigated. osti.gov/biblio/4679984
A 1989 report by Congress’ Office of Technology Assessment, “The Containment of Underground Nuclear Explosions,” had this to say about the cause of this accident: princeton.edu/~ota/disk1/198…

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More from @AtomicAnalyst

10 Dec
Today in 1967, the AEC, Dept. of the Interior, and the El Paso Gas Company conducted Project Gasbuggy, a Project Plowshare nuclear test to stimulate natural gas production ~55 mi. E of Farmington and ~12 mi. SW of Dulce, New Mexico, adjacent to the Jicarilla Apache Reservation.
Yes, someone (actually, many someones) thought nuclear fracking was a really good idea. So, as part of nuclear test series Operation Crosstie, a 29-kiloton device developed by Lawrence Livermore Radiation Laboratory was emplaced at the bottom of a 4,240-foot shaft and detonated.
After the explosion, natural gas production increased relative to nearby conventional gas wells but—surprise!—it was too radioactive to be sold on the commercial market. It also had a significantly lower heat value. Production tests and evaluation activities continued until 1976.
Read 5 tweets
10 Dec
Sixty years ago today, the US Atomic Energy Commission conducted Project Gnome, the first of 27 “peaceful” nuclear explosions under Project Plowshare. A 3.1-kiloton device was detonated inside a salt formation 1,184 feet underground, 12 miles from Loving, New Mexico.
Contrary to scientists’ expectations, the test shaft did not seal itself as a result of the explosion, and seven minutes after detonation, highly-radioactive steam was seen venting from it.
As an official AEC film (featuring an enthusiastic introduction by Edward Teller) put it: “Minor amounts of radiation released soon dissipate, and no harmful offsite contamination is reported. ... No exposure [to personnel] exceeds the limits established.”
Read 5 tweets
8 Dec
Today in 1968, the United States conducted Schooner, a Project Plowshare experiment in which a 30-kiloton device was exploded 355 feet under the Nevada Test Site to study nuclear excavation techniques. This was the last US nuclear test to deliberately reach with the atmosphere.
Here is restored official footage of the Schooner explosion breaching the surface and the early formation of the resulting highly-radioactive dust cloud:
And here is a short official (but silent) film about the preparations for and execution of the Schooner test, including multiple views of the explosion and the very large dust cloud from the ground and the air.
Read 6 tweets
8 Dec
OTD in 1964 at Bunker Hill AFB, Indiana, as aircraft were taxiing during an Operational Readiness Alert inspection exercise in icy weather, a B-58 carrying a 9Mt B53 bomb in a pod and four 70kt-1Mt B43 bombs skidded off the taxiway, suffered landing gear failure, and caught fire.
All three crew members abandoned the aircraft. The commander and defensive systems operated escaped with superficial burns. Navigator Manuel “Rocky” Cervantes, Jr., 29, was trapped and opted to use his escape capsule. Its parachute had no time to deploy. He landed hard and died.
When the landing gear collapsed, the B-58 crushed the pod beneath it, which carried both the B53 bomb _and_ 14,000 gallons of fuel. The fire caused the high explosives in all five bombs to detonate. The wreckage burned for two hours. Three of the five bombs were heavily damaged.
Read 7 tweets
8 Dec
Today in 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced his “Atoms for Peace” plan at the UN General Assembly, which led to the creation of the International Atomic Energy Agency and unwittingly made it much easier for states to develop nuclear weapons. nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/…
Secretary of State John Foster Dulles believed that US and Soviet donations of fissionable material to an international agency—to fuel peaceful research and power reactors around the world—would actually decrease the amount of uranium and plutonium available for nuclear weapons.
But when Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov told Dulles that such reactors could be used to make A-bomb fuel, Dulles completely failed to grasp that with “Atoms for Peace,” Ike had committed to disseminating nuclear technology without even a rudimentary risk assessment.
Read 4 tweets
7 Dec
Today in 1962, President John F. Kennedy visited Strategic Air Command headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, and presented CINCSAC Gen. Thomas S. Power with a plaque commending SAC's air operations during the Cuban Missile Crisis less than two months earlier.
Here is (silent) color footage of Kennedy's visit to SAC and a transcript of his remarks that day: historyinpieces.com/video/footage/…
Kennedy then flew to New Mexico and became the first US president to visit Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (now @LosAlamosNatLab), accompanied by Vice President Lyndon Johnson, AEC chairman Glenn Seaborg, laboratory director Norris Bradbury, and others.
Read 6 tweets

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