Pahute Mesa

Pahute Mesa is one of four major nuclear test regions within the Nevada Test Site (NTS), and is divided into two sections: Area 19 and Area 20. Pahute Mesa is located at the northwest corner of NTS; 85 nuclear tests have been conducted in the two sections. [ [http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/publications/historical/DOENV_209_REV15.pdf US Department of Energy. Nevada Operations Office. "United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992" (December 2000)] ]

The Pahute Mesa area was incorporated into the boundary of the NTS in late 1963 under an agreement between the Atomic Energy Commission and the U.S. Air Force. [ [http://nstg.nevada.edu/web_pubs/ntsdesc.pdf Nevada Risk Assessment/Management Program, Nevada Test Site and Nellis Air Force Range Description. Preparatory material for NTS tour by A.E. Hechanova and L.J. O'Neill. "Description of the Nevada Test Site and Nellis Air Force Range Complex Activities in Nevada" (May 1998)] ]

Geology

The geology of Pahute Mesa makes it possible to test devices at much greater depths than in Yucca Flat. Holes can be drilled down to more than 1,370 meters (4,500 feet). The greater depth and isolation allowed the much higher yield tests, with minimal levels of ground motion being felt in Las Vegas, over 160 kilometers (100 miles) away. Tests in the megaton and greater range included the Boxcar, Benham, and Handley events. In addition to the Department of Energy weapons development tests, a Department of Defense nuclear test detection experiment and several Plowshare tests have been conducted on Pahute Mesa.

Both Area 19 and Area 20 have the same rugged terrain features and harsh winter conditions that make year-round operations difficult.

Area 20

Area 20 was used for 49 nuclear tests, beginning in 1965 with "Palanquin", a part of Operation Whetstone. The final test was "Montello", a treaty verification test, in 1991, part of Operation Sculpin. [ [http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/publications/historical/DOENV_209_REV15.pdf US Department of Energy. Nevada Operations Office. "United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992" (December 2000)] ]

On April 14 1965, the Palanquin-Whetstone test, a part of Operation Plowshare, detonated a 4.3 kiloton device within a relatively shallow shaft 85 meters deep for the purpose of creating and studying a crater. A large amount of radioactive debris was blown into the atmosphere, including 910 kCi of Iodine-131 (¹³¹I), a radionuclide that can cause thyroid cancer. [ [http://www.cancer.gov/i131/fallout/Chapter2.pdf National Cancer Institute. National Institute of Health. Chapter 2. "History of the Nevada Test Site and Nuclear Testing Background."] ] Radioactivity from the test was detected outside of Nevada Test Site. [ [http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/publications/historical/DOENV_209_REV15.pdf US Department of Energy. Nevada Operations Office. "United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992" (December 2000)] ]

The 30 kiloton "Schooner" shot of Operation Bowline, another test component of Operation Plowshare, was exploded in a shaft 100 meters deep on December 8 1968 for the purpose of creating a crater. Its radioactive plume dropped radionuclides including plutonium across Area 20 and northward into Nellis Air Force Range. [ [http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/report/enviro/eis-0243/fig4-30.html Globalsecurity.org. Weapons of Mass Destruction. Library. "Nevada Test Site Final Environmental Impact Statement". Figure 4-30: Approximate area of plutonium contamination exceeding 10 pCi/g on the NTS.] ] The component of ¹³¹I contained in the plume was estimated at 15 kCi. [ [http://www.cancer.gov/i131/fallout/Chapter2.pdf National Cancer Institute. National Institute of Health. Chapter 2. "History of the Nevada Test Site and Nuclear Testing Background."] ] In 2001, ongoing tests confirmed the Schooner crater site as having the highest annual mean concentration of radioactive tritiated water (HTO) of any test area at NTS. [ [http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/servlets/purl/804926-hUmbLW/native/804926.pdf US Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Operations Office. "Environmental Management" (report, 2001)] ] [ [http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:2AcObtvVocAJ:www.osti.gov/energycitations/servlets/purl/804926-hUmbLW/native/804926.pdf+schooner+plutonium&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&lr=lang_en US Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Operations Office. "Environmental Management" (report, 2001, via Google search, cached HTML version)] ] The Schooner crater itself was host to a series of Apollo astronauts training in its artificial lunar landscape, including Neil Armstrong, Dick Gordon, Buzz Aldrin, Dave Scott and Rusty Schweickart. In 1970, the Apollo 16 team trained at Schooner in the lunar rover. [ [http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/factsheets/DOENV_772.pdf US Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Operations Office. Library. Factsheets. "Apollo Astronauts Train at the Nevada Test Site" (June 2004)] ]

Area 19

Area 19 was used for 36 tests, including high yield tests which would no longer be permissible after July 1974 under the terms of the Threshold Test Ban Treaty. The first test at Area 19 was "Chartreuse", in 1966, a part of Operation Flintlock. The last test was "Junction", a treaty verification test, in 1992, part of Operation Julin. [ [http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/publications/historical/DOENV_209_REV15.pdf US Department of Energy. Nevada Operations Office. "United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992" (December 2000)] ]

Nearby

Area 18 lies south of both Areas 19 and 20. Area 18 holds the Pahute Control Point, a central monitoring station for data from Pahute Mesa tests. The Pahute Control Point was used until 1971. [ [http://www.shundahai.org/area_18_nts.htm Shundahai Network. "Area 18"] ]

Buckboard Mesa stretches across Areas 18 and 17, and includes Scrugham Peak (6039 ft.) at the southeast corner of Area 18. [ [http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?fid=53214 Topozone. "Buckboard Mesa USGS Scrugham Peak Quad, Nevada, Topographic Map"] ]

Airport

Area 18 contains an unattended, restricted private airport called Pahute Mesa Airstrip or Pahute Airstrip. Originally built in 1941 as an emergency landing strip for Army Air Corps fighters, it was expanded in 1968 to allow transport aircraft to bring test materials and supplies to projects at Areas 19 and 20. Permission to land must be obtained in advance from the US Department of Energy. [ [http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/publications/historical/DOE_MA0518.pdf US Department of Energy. Terrence R. Fehner, F. G. Gosling. "Origins of the Nevada Test Site". pp 21. (December 2000)] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.airnav.com/airport/L23 Pahute Mesa Airstrip — FAA information]
* [http://www.shundahai.org/area_19_nts.htm Shundahai Network — Area 19]