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Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) Tour Booklet

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Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) Tour Booklet Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) Tour Booklet Nevada Site Specific Advisory Board October 26, 2016 Prohibited Articles On NNSS Public Tours The following items are prohibited within the boundaries of the NNSS public tours. Tour escorts are required to do random checks. • Cellular Phones • Recording Devices • Bluetooth Enabled Devices • Pets and Animals • PDA, BlackBerry, etc. • Explosives • Computers • Ammunition • Portable Data Storage Devices • Incendiary Devices • Global Positioning System (GPS) • Chemical Irritants • Cameras/Camcorders • Alcoholic Beverages • Binoculars • Controlled Substances • Optical Instruments • Any Item Prohibited by Law • Geiger Counters Possession of these items may delay the tour and prevent your participation. If at any point during the tour these items are discovered, the tour may be terminated. 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 2 Log No. 2016Page-138 2Title Page 2 NNSS Tour Agenda* 7:30 a.m. Depart for NNSS 12:10 p.m. Sedan Crater Briefing (photo opp) 8:40 a.m. Arrive at Gate 100 for badge check 12:40 p.m. Depart for Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 576 8:45 a.m. Depart for Frenchman Flat 1:15 p.m. CAU 576 Briefing ~ Work Plan Item 1 9:00 a.m. Frenchman Flat Groundwater Briefing 1:40 p.m. Depart for Icecap Ground Zero (GZ) (photo opp) ~ Work Plan Items 5 & 6 1:50 p.m. Ice Cap GZ Briefing (photo opp) 9:45 a.m. Depart for Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) 2:15 p.m. Depart for Mercury 9:50 a.m. Area 5 RWMC Briefing and Drive-Through 3:15 p.m. Mercury Building 600 for rest stop and photo ~ Work Plan Item 4 briefings and extended questions and answers 10:50 a.m. Depart for Stockade Wash Overlook 3:50 p.m. Depart for Gate 100 11:00 a.m. Rainier Mesa Groundwater Briefing. Lunch 4:05 p.m. Depart for Las Vegas break. ~ Work Plan Items 5 & 6 5:05 p.m. Arrive Centennial Hills Park and Ride 11:45 a.m. Depart for Sedan Crater * Subject to change 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 3 Log No. 2016Page-138 3Title Page 3 NNSS Tour Map 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 4 Log No. 2016Page-138 4Title Page 4 Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) • Approximately 1,360 square miles of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-controlled land – Surrounded by approximately 4,500 square miles of federally controlled land • Located approximately 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 5 Log No. 2016Page-138 5Title Page 5 DOE Site Comparisons 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 6 Log No. 2016Page-138 6Title Page 6 Life in Mercury 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 7 Log No. 2016Page-138 7Title Page 7 Life in Mercury (continued) 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 8 Log No. 2016Page-138 8Title Page 8 Nuclear Testing Road to the NNSS • U.S. enters World War II in 1941 after Japanese attack Pearl Harbor • U.S. Manhattan Project begins developing first atomic bomb in 1942 to influence the outcome of the war • Manhattan Project tests first atomic bomb in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, called “Trinity” • U.S. drops two atomic bombs on two cities in Japan on August 6 and 9, 1945 – Japan surrenders August 14, 1945 • Nuclear testing begins in the South Pacific Ocean in 1946 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 9 Log No. 2016Page-138 9Title Page 9 NNSS Established in 1950 • Atomic testing in the South Pacific presented challenges – Logistics – Weather – Security – Safety • Urgent need for continental test site – Top secret feasibility study, code named Nutmeg, commenced to search for a continental test site – Study concluded arid, southwest section of U.S. as an ideal location • President Truman officially established Nevada Proving Grounds, now the NNSS, on December 18, 1950 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 10 Log No. 2016Page-138 10Title Page 10 Historic Activities • First NNSS atmospheric nuclear test detonated on January 27, 1951 • 928 atmospheric and underground nuclear tests conducted between 1951 and 1992 • Development and testing of nuclear weapons generated radioactive waste 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 11 Log No. 2016Page-138 11Title Page 11 U.S. Nuclear Tests Location Tests Detonations A test is defined in South Atlantic 3 3 the Threshold Test Pacific 106 106 Ban Treaty as either a single underground Alamogordo, NM 1 1 nuclear explosion Amchitka, AK 3 3 (detonation) or two or Carlsbad, NM 1 1 more underground Central, NV 1 1 nuclear explosions Fallon, NV 1 1 (detonations) Farmington, NM 1 1 conducted within an Grand Valley, CO 1 1 area delineated by a Hattiesburg, MS 2 2 circle having a Nellis Range 5 5 diameter of 2 Rifle, CO 1 3 kilometers and conducted within a NNSS Atmospheric 100 100 total period of time NNSS Underground – U.S. 804 not to exceed 0.1 NNSS Underground – U.S./U.K. 24 921 second. 1,054 1,149 Source: NV-209 Rev 15 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 12 Log No. 2016Page-138 12Title Page 12 Atmospheric Testing at the NNSS • 100 atmospheric tests conducted at the NNSS from January 1951 through July 1962 to study weapons-related effects, as safety experiments, and to study peaceful effects of nuclear explosions • Conducted aboveground in the atmosphere − Tower 43 − Balloon 23 − Airdrop 19 − Surface 13 − Rocket 1 − Airburst 1 Climax – an airdrop test at the NNSS on June 4, 1953 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 13 Log No. 2016Page-138 13Title Page 13 Frenchman Flat Seated at these bleachers, located alongside the Mercury Highway, official observers viewed the detonation of 14 atmospheric tests in Frenchman Flat 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 14 Log No. 2016Page-138 14Title Page 14 37-kiloton Priscilla test detonated on June 24, 1957 on the NNSS Frenchman Flat 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 15 Log No. 2016Page-138 15Title Page 15 Nonproliferation Test and Evaluation Complex (NPTEC) • Unique 67-acre facility equipped to test sensors using a variety of release methods, including chemical releases, wind tunnel releases, and portable release systems • Provides sensor arrays for ground truth data, an explosives pad, weather data instrumentation, calibrated release systems, and 24-hour release capability • Environmental Impact Statement allows release of hazardous materials for training, field-testing of detectors, plume dispersion experimentation, and equipment and materials testing • Includes activities at various other locations on the NNSS 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 16 Log No. 2016Page-138 16Title Page 16 Soils • Atmospheric nuclear weapons tests, nuclear safety experiments, surface releases from underground tests, nuclear testing done in support of nuclear rocket development in Area 25, and evaluation tests for peaceful uses of nuclear explosives conducted at the NNSS and Nevada Test and Training Range (operated by the U.S. Air Force) resulted in the radioactive contamination of surface soils • Soils Activity includes 148 Corrective Action Sites (~83% closed as of June 30, 2016) – Characterizing and remediating surface soil contamination – Ensuring appropriate controls (e.g. postings, barriers) are in place at the sites and conducting long-term site monitoring, as needed 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 17 Log No. 2016Page-138 17Title Page 17 Atmospheric Test Relics Concrete shelter domes prior to the Effect of the test on the concrete 1957 Priscilla test shelter dome 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 18 Log No. 2016Page-138 18Title Page 18 900-square-foot underground dual purpose garage and mass shelter built and tested for Priscilla in 1957 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 19 Log No. 2016Page-138 19Title Page 19 Mosler Safe Company designed a 12-foot-by-8-foot reinforced concrete vault for the Priscilla test in 1957; trim on the steel door was loosened by the blast, but the door itself was not damaged – contents placed within the safe remained intact 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 20 Log No. 2016Page-138 20Title Page 20 Four railroad trestles constructed for Operation Plumbbob in 1953 – only one structure remains in place today with visible significant bowing of the steel “I” beams 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 21 Log No. 2016Page-138 21Title Page 21 The End of Atmospheric Testing • U.S. agreed to observe Limited Test Ban Treaty in October 1963, effectively ending atmospheric testing Little Feller I test location 46 years after the last atmospheric test on the NNSS was detonated on July 17, 1962 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 22 Log No. 2016Page-138 22Title Page 22 Industrial Sites • Industrial Sites are facilities and land used in direct support of historic nuclear testing, which resulted in environmental contamination – Sites include leach fields, sumps, disposal wells, tanks, contaminated waste piles, and ordnance sites • 1,126* Corrective Action Sites – Completed remediation activities at 1,124* sites with state approval * Does not include Defense Program funded sites 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 23 Log No. 2016Page-138 23Title Page 23 Low-Level Waste (LLW) Disposal at NNSS Tom Hergert Area 3/5 Nuclear Facility Manager National Security Technologies, LLC NNSS Area 5 Disposal Facility • Located in Frenchman Flat, near first atmospheric nuclear test in Nevada (24 nuclear tests conducted within 4 miles of Area 5 RWMS) • Arid and isolated disposal facility with no groundwater pathway and deep groundwater • Supports ongoing cleanup activities at NNSS and across the DOE complex • Can safely dispose of classified waste that requires additional security NNSS Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) 1420FY16 – 8/30/16 – Page 25 Log No. 2016Page-138 25Title Page 25 Geographic and Geologic Isolation of Disposed Waste • Protection against intrusion . 740 acres owned by DOE . Protected by armed security force and security devices 24/7 . Surrounded by ~4,500 miles of Air Force controlled land . More than 8 feet of soil covers disposal cells • No groundwater pathway .
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