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Operation Roller Coaster
Information
Country United States
Test site Tonopah Test Range
Period 1963
Number of tests 4
Test type Surface
Max. yield zero
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Operation Roller Coaster was a series of open-air nuclear tests conducted by the United States on the Tonopah Test Range in 1963.[1][2] The tests examined the dispersal of plutonium in storage and transportation accidents and were not expected to produce any nuclear explosive yield.[3]

Corrective actions were taken at the Double Tracks and Clean Slate 1 sites. Contaminated soil was transported to the Area 3 Radioactive Waste Management Site in the Nevada National Security Site and the sites were revegetated.[2]

The Clean Slate 2 and Clean Slate 3 sites remain contaminated pending an agreement between the state and federal government on the corrective action level.[2]

Tests[]

Roller Coaster Tests
Name Date Time (UT[4]) Location Elevation + Height Delivery Purpose Device Yield Venting[5] Notes
Double Tracks May 15, 1963 09:55:-- Tonopah Test Range, Nevada 37°42′19″N 116°59′14″W / 37.70527°N 116.98715°W / 37.70527; -116.98715 1,518 metres (4,980 ft) + 0 Dry surface Safety/transportation test no yield Storage-transportation safety experiment, measured plutonium dispersal risk.
Clean Slate I May 25, 1963 11:17:-- Tonopah Test Range, Nevada 37°42′31″N 116°39′28″W / 37.70853°N 116.65786°W / 37.70853; -116.65786 1,645 metres (5,397 ft) + 0 Dry surface Safety/transportation test no yield Noted off site Storage-transportation safety experiment, measured plutonium dispersal risk.
Clean Slate II May 31, 1963 10:47:-- Tonopah Test Range, Nevada 37°45′41″N 116°36′50″W / 37.7614°N 116.61378°W / 37.7614; -116.61378 1,683 metres (5,522 ft) + 0 Dry surface Safety/transportation test no yield Storage-transportation safety experiment, measured plutonium dispersal risk.
Clean Slate III June 9, 1963 10:30:-- Tonopah Test Range, Nevada 37°45′33″N 116°40′52″W / 37.75914°N 116.68123°W / 37.75914; -116.68123 1,645 metres (5,397 ft) + 0 Dry surface Safety/transportation test no yield Noted off site Storage-transportation safety experiment, measured plutonium dispersal risk.

See also[]

References[]

  1. U.S. Department of Energy / Nevada Operations Office, United States Nuclear Tests - July 1945 through September 1992, December 2000, DOE/NV-209 Rev 15
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office, Plutonium Dispersal Tests at the Nevada Test Site, April 2010, DOE/NV-1046
  3. "Operation Storax, Sun Beam, and Roller Coaster". The Nuclear Weapon Archive. http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/Storax.html. 
  4. Universal Time at the Nevada Test Site is 8 hours after local time; UT dates are one day after local date for UT times after 16:00.
  5. This column is for underground testing emissions into the atmosphere only.
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