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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

VISUAL AND PHOTOGRAPHIC ON-SITE INSPECTION. Final Report

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:4734476
On-site investigations were conducted for Gnome to assist in defining appropriate techniques and procedures to be used by an inspection team for idertifying and locating clandestine nuclear events. The procedures used included aerial photograph interpretations and surface and underground investigations. The Gnome explosion caused marked local disturbances at the surface, including fracturing, faulting, evidence of abundant rodent activity, and dispersion of the soil. The shaft walls had only minor fractures, caused primarily by separation along bedding planes. The station at the bottom of the shaft exhibited considerable damage, that could have been cleaned up, and higher- than-background radioactivity that would have pointed the way toward more definitive underground examination. All of these effects had characteristics which clearly identified them with nuclear blast and which would be difficult to hide from an inspection team. The epicenter of the Gnome event could have been located within 30 meters provided the control system had delineated an area for inspection including the Gnome site, and the inspection team was able to conduct its examination before the evidence was obliterated by man or the elements. One month following the event, the effects were somewhat obscured, but sufficient evidence was still visible to locate the epicerter. Five months after the event the largest fractures could still be seen, however, the epicenter could have been located only within about 50 meters. (auth)
Research Organization:
Stanford Research Inst., Menlo Park, Calif.
NSA Number:
NSA-17-019732
OSTI ID:
4734476
Report Number(s):
TID-18458
Country of Publication:
Country unknown/Code not available
Language:
English

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