Underground A-Test Set Off in Nevada
A powerful nuclear weapon was detonated in the Nevada desert Tuesday, 40 miles from where about 450 physicians and peace activists gathered in protest.
The protesters, including astronomer-author Carl Sagan and 1985 Nobel Peace laureate Bernard Lown, head of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, arrived at the gates of the Nevada Test Site shortly before the weapon was triggered 2,000 feet beneath Pahute Mesa.
Department of Energy officials said the demonstrators were in no dangerfrom the test.
The blast had a yield of up to 150,000 tons of TNT, the maximum allowable under the Limited Test Ban Treaty. It had ben delayed for 7 1/2 hours by strong winds until it was detonated at 3:30 p.m.
Department of Energy spokesman Chris West, who was in a control blockhouse on the test site, said there was considerable ground motion after the test, which he said appeared to be successful.
“The fact that it exploded and we are receiving data would indicate it was a success,” West said.
The blast, dubbed Lab Quark, was the 17th announced underground nuclear explosion since the Soviet Union announced a unilateral moratorium on testing Aug. 6, 1985.
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