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N0KFQ > TODAY 27.01.14 19:13l 56 Lines 2606 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 11228-N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Jan 27
Path: IZ3LSV<IK2XDE<DB0RES<DB0ANF<CX2SA<N0KFQ
Sent: 140127/1810Z 11228@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.58
Jan 27, 1951:
First atomic detonation at the Nevada test site
Forcefully marking the continued importance of the West in the
development of nuclear weaponry, the government detonates the
first of a series of nuclear bombs at its new Nevada test site.
Although much of the West had long lagged behind the rest of the
nation in technological and industrial development, the massive
World War II project to build the first atomic bomb
single-handedly pushed the region into the 20th century. Code
named the Manhattan Project, this ambitious research and
development program pumped millions of dollars of federal funds
into new western research centers like the bomb building lab at
Los Alamos, New Mexico and the fissionable material production
center at Hanford, Washington. Ironically, the very conditions
that had once impeded western technological development became
benefits: lots of wide-open unpopulated federal land where
dangerous experiments could be conducted in secret.
After the war ended, the West continued to be the ideal region
for Cold War-era nuclear experimentation for the same reasons. In
December 1950, the Atomic Energy Commission designated a large
swath of unpopulated desert land 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas
as the Nevada Proving Ground for atmospheric atomic testing. On
January 27, 1951, the government detonated its first atomic
device on the site, resulting in a tremendous explosion, the
flash from which was seen as far away as San Francisco.
The government continued to conduct atmospheric tests for six
more years at the Nevada site. They studied the effects on humans
by stationing ground troops as close as 2,500 yards from ground
zero and moving them even closer shortly after the detonation. By
1957, though, the effects of radioactivity on the soldiers and
the surrounding population led the government to begin testing
bombs underground, and by 1962, all atmospheric testing had
ceased.
In recent years, the harm caused to soldiers and westerners
exposed to radioactivity from the Nevada test site has become a
controversial topic. Some critics argue the government waged a
"nuclear war on the West," and maintain that the government knew
of the dangers posed to people living near the test site well
before the 1957 shift to underground tests. Others, though, point
out that the test site has brought billions of dollars into the
state and resulted in great economic benefit to Nevada.
** Editor note: "Been there, done that, 546 FA Bn, Ft Lewis, WA"
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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