Protester Near Ground Zero Delays Nuclear Test in Nevada

A large nuclear weapon was exploded Thursday deep beneath the desert floor near here after a delay caused by an anti-nuclear protester who got close to ground zero, officials said.

Scientists were within five to 10 minutes of detonating the weapon at the Nevada Test Site when the protester, the last of six who infiltrated the site, was spotted by a helicopter crew within a mile of ground zero, said Department of Energy spokesman Dave Miller.

“He got close enough that we were concerned that if we fired he might get injured,” Miller said.

The test, previously delayed by weather, was pushed back another 25 minutes while the man was flown out by helicopter. It was finally detonated at 12:25 p.m.

Boyer said “considerable dust” was raised by the blast, which shook the control center 30 miles from ground zero. The nuclear device, sealed at the bottom of a 2,000-foot shaft at Pahute Mesa, 103 miles northwest of Las Vegas, had an explosive force of up to 150,000 tons of TNT.