U.S. Conducts 6th Atomic Test of ’87
The United States conducted its sixth nuclear test of the year Thursday, detonating a device in the Nevada desert up to 10 times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb and one that registered 5.3 on the Richter scale at the National Earthquake Information Center in Boulder, Colo.
Energy Department spokesman Jim Boyer said the test, code-named “Hardin,” created “very strong ground motion” at the control point where he was located.
“You could see movement in the walls of the building,” said Boyer, who added that he had seen greater ground motion in other tests.
Boyer said the test was conducted with no apparent problems.
The nuclear device was buried in a shaft 2,000 feet beneath Pahute Mesa, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
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