5th Underground Nuclear Test of ’86 Detonated
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YUCCA FLAT, Nev. — A large underground nuclear test, the fifth to be announced in 1986, was exploded by U.S. scientists at the Nevada Test Site on Thursday, only days after a protest by hundreds of activists.
The test, code-named “Tajoe,” was detonated 1,700 feet below the desert floor at Yucca Flat, 80 miles northwest of Las Vegas, according to a Department of Energy spokesman.
The 8:04 a.m. PDT test had an explosive force of between 20 and 150 kilotons, equal to a maximum punch of 150,000 tons of TNT.
The blast came without prior notice less than 72 hours after the arrests of 149 anti-nuclear demonstrators on trespassing charges at the entrance to the Rhode Island-sized classified research facility.
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