21st Century Complete Guide to the Nevada Test Site, America's Nuclear Test Site: Atomic Bombs, History, Photos, Reports, Environmental Impact, Radioactive Waste (Three CD-ROM Set)

This up-to-date and comprehensive electronic book on three CD-ROMs provides vital information on the Nevada Test Site (NTS), America's nuclear weapons test location used for atmospheric and underground atomic bomb tests for several decades. This collection of important documents, reports, and publications about every facet of the NTS facility includes the period from January 27, 1951, the date of the first test code-named "Able" to the final underground test called "Divider" on September 23, 1992. A total of 928 tests serving a variety of national security purposes were conducted. Research included design testing for the verification of new weapons concepts, proof-testing of existing weapons, effects testing to determine the impact of nuclear weapons on man-made structures and the physical environment, and experimental testing in the search for possible peaceful uses. NTS played a vital and central role in the development and maintenance of the Cold War nuclear arsenal. Although nuclear tests are no longer conducted, the Department of Energy maintains the capability to resume testing and continues to use the site for a variety of national security needs. NTS consists of about 1375 square miles of remote desert and mountain terrain located in the southern part of the Great Basin northwest of Las Vegas.

In addition to the thorough coverage of the NTS and history, there is extensive material on environmental and radiological programs at the site, with many environmental and low-level waste reports, and environmental monitoring documents. Documents provide details on radiological effluents from the Nevada tests and containment of underground nuclear explosions. Supplemental material covers the history of the atomic bomb and human radiation experiments.

A unique national resource, the Nevada Test Site is a massive outdoor laboratory and national experimental center that cannot be duplicated. Larger than the state of Rhode Island, it is one of the largest restricted access areas in the United States. The remote site is surrounded by thousands of additional acres of land withdrawn from the public domain for use as a protected wildlife range and for a military gunnery range, creating an unpopulated land area comprising some 5,470 square miles. Established as the Atomic Energy Commission's on-continent proving ground, the Nevada Test Site has seen more than four decades of nuclear weapons testing. Since the nuclear weapons testing moratorium in 1992 and under the direction of the Department of Energy (DOE), test site use has diversified into many other programs such as hazardous chemical spill testing, emergency response training, conventional weapons testing, and waste management and environmental technology studies. Larger than many small countries, the Nevada Test Site offers an enormous amount of space, including more than a 1,000 miles of completely undisturbed land available for new projects. The vast site also offers security. The boundary and security areas are guarded, and the area is isolated from population centers. Project personnel operate in complete privacy only 65 miles from the major urban area of Las Vegas, from which supplies and services are readily available and which can accommodate any increase in population that might result from additional activities. Commuter buses provide convenient transportation to and from work for test site personnel, and the arid desert climate allows year-round operation.