DOE OSTI2019
Project 57 was an open-air, plutonium-dispersal safety test conducted by the United States in 1957 on a portion of the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) (formerly the Las Vegas Bombing and Gunnery Range). The Project 57 test area, once known as Area 13, was a block of land abutting the northeastern boundary of the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The NTS was renamed the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) in 2010. In keeping with the historical Cold War period designation, NTS will be used when discussing historic period events, while NNSS will be applied for contemporary activities. During Project 57, the high explosives of a nuclear weapon were triggered asymmetrically to simulate an accidental detonation. The test was conducted to study the extent of plutonium contamination from a nonnuclear yield accident, as well as assess the biological and environmental hazards such an event could create. Following the conclusion of the experiment, the contaminated area surrounding the ground zero (GZ) was fenced off and some of the contaminated equipment was buried in place. The Project 57 Rad-Safe area was abandoned. In 1981, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) decontaminated and decommissioned the Project 57 site. This Section 110 documentation was prompted by recognition that more than five decades have passed since the abandonment of the Project 57 Rad-Safe area, particularly the personnel decontamination building, which leaves the temporary structure vulnerable to natural forces of weathering and decay. However, these temporary facilities remain partially standing, allowing for a condition assessment and recommendations regarding the Rad-Safe area’s historical significance. The National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) determined there was no area of potential effect (APE) (direct, indirect, or visual) because there is no planned undertaking and the Project 57 Rad-Safe area will continue to remain unused. Instead, a 4.5-acre study area was established to facilitate recording the Project 57 personnel decontamination building and the remaining accessory resources. The study area is bounded on the east by Valley Road and it extends to the east far enough to encompass the former Project 57 Rad-Safe area (Figure A-2). The Section 110 study area is located in the northwest quarter of Section 35, Township 07S Range 54E Mount Diablo Base and Meridian. It is on the 1962 Groom Mine SW USGS 7.5-minute series topographic quadrangle. Desert Research Institute (DRI) surveyed the Section 110 study area, resulting in the recording and evaluation of the Project 57 Rad-Safe area personnel decontamination building and four accessory resources (AR-1 through AR-4). Copies of the building form and report are on file at DRI and with the NNSA/NFO in Las Vegas, Nevada.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗