Alpha Contaminated Area/Project 57

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In 1957, the Atomic Energy Commission conducted a safety experiment, named Project 57, just outside the NTS on the Nellis Air Force Range. The Project 57 test area, also known as Area 13, was a 10 mile by 16 mile block of land abutting the northeast boundary of the NTS. On April 24, 1957, the safety experiment commenced when a high explosive charge of a nuclear weapon's warhead destroyed the weapon with no atomic explosion. A radiological survey team entered the experiment area to confirm whether or not any beta or gamma radiation hazard existed from a partial nuclear yield. There was no beta or gamma radiation detected, but all personnel entering the area were requested to wear full protective suits and respirators to protect themselves from alpha radiation.

The extent and distribution of plutonium contamination in Area 13 was mapped and the contaminated area fenced off and posted with radiation hazard signs. Contaminated equipment was disposed of in waste burial sites inside Area 13. The Project 57 site lay abandoned and nearly forgotten for more than 20 years. As part of an environmental clean-up effort in 1981, the U.S. Department of Energy Nevada Operations Office sought funding for the decontamination and decommissioning of Area 13. Hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of soil were removed from Area 13 during decontamination efforts. Contaminated soil and debris from Area 13 were disposed of in a waste facility at the Nevada Test Site.

www.nv.doe.gov/library/factsheets/DOENV_1046.pdf