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Project 57
Information
Country United States
Test site Nellis Air Force Range
Period April 1957
Test type Surface
Yield 0 kilotons of TNT (0 TJ)
Navigation
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Next test Operation Plumbbob

Project 57 was an open-air nuclear test conducted by the United States at the Nellis Air Force Range in 1957.[1][2] The test area, also known as Area 13, was a 10 miles (16 km) by 16 miles (26 km) block of land abutting the northeast boundary of the Nevada National Security Site.[3]

Project 57 was a combination safety test. The high explosives of a nuclear weapon were detonated asymmetrically to simulate an accidental detonation. The purpose of the test was to verify that no yield would result as well as study the extent of plutonium contamination.[2]

The contaminated area was initially fenced off and the contaminated equipment buried in place. In 1981, the U.S. Department of Energy decontaminated and decommissioned the site. Hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of soil and debris were removed from Area 13 and disposed of in a waste facility at the Nevada Test Site.[3]

Project 57 Tests
Name Date, Time (UT[4]) Location Elevation + Height Delivery Purpose Device Yield Notes
Project 57 #1 April 24, 1957 14:27 NTS| Area 13 37°19′10″N 115°54′22″W / 37.31935°N 115.90608°W / 37.31935; -115.90608 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) + 0 surface contamination hazard test XW-25 air defense warhead 0 Successful, contaminating a large area.

See also[]

References[]

  1. "United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992 (Revision 15)". Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office. December 2000. http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/publications/historical/DOENV_209_REV15.pdf. Retrieved 2013-10-26. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Projects 57, 58, and 58A". The Nuclear Weapon Archive. http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/Proj57-58.html. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office, Plutonium Dispersal Tests at the Nevada Test Site, April 2010, DOE/NV-1046
  4. Local time (PST) is 8 hours less than UT (7 for PDT); local date is the day before UT if UT time is before 08:00 (07:00 PDT).

PD-icon This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of Energy.


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