Divine Strake
Encyclopedia
Divine Strake was the official designation for a large-yield, non-nuclear
, high-explosive test that was planned for the Nevada Test Site
. Following its announcement, the test generated great controversy, centering on two issues: its potential value in developing a nuclear "bunker buster" warhead
, and the possibility that the mushroom cloud
generated by the explosion could carry large amounts of radioactive
dust deposited at the Test Site over years of nuclear testing
.
On February 22, 2007 the Defense Threat Reduction Agency
(DTRA) officially canceled the experiment.
Nevada Test Site. It was first postponed until September 2006 as the result of a lawsuit filed on behalf of Native American
and environmental
groups concerned that the explosion could thrust into the atmosphere nuclear fallout
from previous nuclear tests
at the Test Site, and was later postponed even further to 2007.
In August 2006, a spokesperson for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency
told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that a limestone quarry near Bedford, Indiana was under consideration as a possible alternative location for the test. Professor David Sanders
, Democratic candidate for U.S. Representative for the 4th Congressional District of Indiana, organized efforts to oppose the test in Indiana. Michael Evenson of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency
stated that the site in Indiana was no longer being considered on August 29, 2006. In mid-November, DTRA ended speculation that the test would be moved to New Mexico when the agency informed Sen. Pete Domenici
, R-N.M., that environmental studies needed to move the Divine Strake test to the New Mexico missile range would delay the test too long and that the test would be held in Nevada.
In December 2006, the revision to the Environmental Assessment was released, and public meetings to be held by the Pentagon were announced for January. Although the study concluded that there were no health risks to persons outside the blast area, it did state that:
The test would have utilized 700 tons of ANFO
(ammonium nitrate + fuel oil
) explosive, which is equivalent to 593 tons of TNT. According to a draft environmental impact assessment filed by the National Nuclear Security Administration in May, 2006, the charge would have been placed at in a circular pit some 32 feet in diameter with a hemispherical bottom. The center of gravity of the charge would have been at least 20 feet below ground level.
Some media reports have stated that the purpose of Divine Strake was to test the ability of a conventional explosive to penetrate underground military compounds. However, other reports suggested that this explanation was not credible given the weight, dimensions and emplacement of the charge and that the program was designed to test the effects of a nuclear bunker buster
on deeply buried tunnel structures. The organization immediately responsible for conducting the test, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, stated:
; however, this test would have been far smaller than the Minor Scale
simulated nuclear
explosion at White Sands Missile Range
in 1985. The test, which would not have been visible from Las Vegas
, was expected to shoot a cloud of debris 10,000 feet in the air and result in a 3.1- to 3.4-magnitude earthquake. A leading environmental consultant, Richard L. Miller, believes that six tests conducted in the 1950s may have spread contamination over the area where the Pentagon planned to detonate the explosives. The question of radioactive contamination
was raised by two Utah legislators, Senator Orrin Hatch
and Representative Jim Matheson
, who asked for detailed mapping of the contamination surrounding the Divine Strake site.
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
, high-explosive test that was planned for the Nevada Test Site
Nevada Test Site
The Nevada National Security Site , previously the Nevada Test Site , is a United States Department of Energy reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about northwest of the city of Las Vegas...
. Following its announcement, the test generated great controversy, centering on two issues: its potential value in developing a nuclear "bunker buster" warhead
Nuclear bunker buster
Bunker-busting nuclear weapons, also known as earth-penetrating weapons , are a type of nuclear weapon designed to penetrate into soil, rock, or concrete to deliver a nuclear warhead to a target. These weapons would be used to destroy hardened, underground military bunkers buried deep in the ground...
, and the possibility that the mushroom cloud
Mushroom cloud
A mushroom cloud is a distinctive pyrocumulus mushroom-shaped cloud of condensed water vapor or debris resulting from a very large explosion. They are most commonly associated with nuclear explosions, but any sufficiently large blast will produce the same sort of effect. They can be caused by...
generated by the explosion could carry large amounts of radioactive
Radioactive decay
Radioactive decay is the process by which an atomic nucleus of an unstable atom loses energy by emitting ionizing particles . The emission is spontaneous, in that the atom decays without any physical interaction with another particle from outside the atom...
dust deposited at the Test Site over years of nuclear testing
Nuclear testing
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...
.
On February 22, 2007 the Defense Threat Reduction Agency
Defense Threat Reduction Agency
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency is an agency within the United States Department of Defense and is the official Combat Support Agency for countering weapons of mass destruction . DTRA's main functions are threat reduction, threat control, combat support, and technology development...
(DTRA) officially canceled the experiment.
Background and controversy
The test was originally scheduled for June 2, 2006, at the site of an existing underground tunnel in the United States Department of EnergyUnited States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
Nevada Test Site. It was first postponed until September 2006 as the result of a lawsuit filed on behalf of Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
and environmental
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
groups concerned that the explosion could thrust into the atmosphere nuclear fallout
Nuclear fallout
Fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and shock wave have passed. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash created when a nuclear weapon explodes...
from previous nuclear tests
Nuclear testing
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...
at the Test Site, and was later postponed even further to 2007.
In August 2006, a spokesperson for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency
Defense Threat Reduction Agency
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency is an agency within the United States Department of Defense and is the official Combat Support Agency for countering weapons of mass destruction . DTRA's main functions are threat reduction, threat control, combat support, and technology development...
told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that a limestone quarry near Bedford, Indiana was under consideration as a possible alternative location for the test. Professor David Sanders
David Sanders (biologist)
David Sanders is an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Purdue University. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Yale College in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. He conducted his Ph.D. research in Biochemistry with Dr. Daniel E...
, Democratic candidate for U.S. Representative for the 4th Congressional District of Indiana, organized efforts to oppose the test in Indiana. Michael Evenson of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency
Defense Threat Reduction Agency
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency is an agency within the United States Department of Defense and is the official Combat Support Agency for countering weapons of mass destruction . DTRA's main functions are threat reduction, threat control, combat support, and technology development...
stated that the site in Indiana was no longer being considered on August 29, 2006. In mid-November, DTRA ended speculation that the test would be moved to New Mexico when the agency informed Sen. Pete Domenici
Pete Domenici
Pietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici is an American Republican politician, who served six terms as a United States Senator from New Mexico, from 1973 to 2009, the longest tenure in the state's history....
, R-N.M., that environmental studies needed to move the Divine Strake test to the New Mexico missile range would delay the test too long and that the test would be held in Nevada.
In December 2006, the revision to the Environmental Assessment was released, and public meetings to be held by the Pentagon were announced for January. Although the study concluded that there were no health risks to persons outside the blast area, it did state that:
- "Since suspended natural radionuclides and resuspended fallout radionuclides from the detonation have potential to be transported off of the NTS by wind, they may contribute radiological dose to the public."
The test would have utilized 700 tons of ANFO
ANFO
ANFO is a widely used bulk industrial explosive mixture. It consists of 94 percent porous prilled ammonium nitrate , that acts as the oxidizing agent and absorbent for the fuel — six percent Number 2 Fuel Oil...
(ammonium nitrate + fuel oil
Fuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
) explosive, which is equivalent to 593 tons of TNT. According to a draft environmental impact assessment filed by the National Nuclear Security Administration in May, 2006, the charge would have been placed at in a circular pit some 32 feet in diameter with a hemispherical bottom. The center of gravity of the charge would have been at least 20 feet below ground level.
Some media reports have stated that the purpose of Divine Strake was to test the ability of a conventional explosive to penetrate underground military compounds. However, other reports suggested that this explanation was not credible given the weight, dimensions and emplacement of the charge and that the program was designed to test the effects of a nuclear bunker buster
Nuclear bunker buster
Bunker-busting nuclear weapons, also known as earth-penetrating weapons , are a type of nuclear weapon designed to penetrate into soil, rock, or concrete to deliver a nuclear warhead to a target. These weapons would be used to destroy hardened, underground military bunkers buried deep in the ground...
on deeply buried tunnel structures. The organization immediately responsible for conducting the test, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, stated:
- "The experiment is not being conducted in support of any specific existing or planned nuclear or conventional weapon. However, the data from DIVINE STRAKE and previous smaller explosive tests against the tunnel will be used to support improvement of computer modeling codes for predicting ground shock propagation and ground motion."
Effects
The test is reminiscent of The Gadget test of 1945, and was expected to produce a mushroom cloudMushroom cloud
A mushroom cloud is a distinctive pyrocumulus mushroom-shaped cloud of condensed water vapor or debris resulting from a very large explosion. They are most commonly associated with nuclear explosions, but any sufficiently large blast will produce the same sort of effect. They can be caused by...
; however, this test would have been far smaller than the Minor Scale
Minor Scale (explosion)
Minor Scale was a test conducted by the United States Defense Nuclear Agency involving the detonation of several thousand tons of conventional explosives to simulate the explosion of a small nuclear bomb...
simulated nuclear
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
explosion at White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range...
in 1985. The test, which would not have been visible from Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, was expected to shoot a cloud of debris 10,000 feet in the air and result in a 3.1- to 3.4-magnitude earthquake. A leading environmental consultant, Richard L. Miller, believes that six tests conducted in the 1950s may have spread contamination over the area where the Pentagon planned to detonate the explosives. The question of radioactive contamination
Radioactive contamination
Radioactive contamination, also called radiological contamination, is radioactive substances on surfaces, or within solids, liquids or gases , where their presence is unintended or undesirable, or the process giving rise to their presence in such places...
was raised by two Utah legislators, Senator Orrin Hatch
Orrin Hatch
Orrin Grant Hatch is the senior United States Senator for Utah and is a member of the Republican Party. Hatch served as the chairman or ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1993 to 2005...
and Representative Jim Matheson
Jim Matheson
James David "Jim" Matheson is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes eastern Salt Lake City....
, who asked for detailed mapping of the contamination surrounding the Divine Strake site.
External links
- DOE: Draft December 2006 Revised Environmental Assessment - Divine Strake
- Salt Lake Tribune: Report concedes toxic dust may be dispersed but says there is no threat
- PCH Press: U.S. Still Planning Divine Strake For Iran
- PCH Press: U.S. Set To Develop Special Nuke Against Iran; Shoshone Win Small Victory
- Washington Post: Pentagon to Test a Huge Conventional Bomb
- Extract from Jane's Intelligence Digest article on 'Divine Strake'
- Washington Post: Pentagon Clarifies Nevada Intent 7 April 2006.
- WPVI-ABC article on "Divine Strake"
- "Divine Strake" on GlobalSecurity.org
- US Indymedia: Stop The "Divine Strake" at the Nevada Test Site
- Federation of American Scientists: Strategic Security Blog on Divine Strake
- Las Vegas SUN: Test blast linked to nuke weapons
- Government withdraws environmental finding, Divine Strake test delayed
- Divine Strake blast delayed indefinitely
- Divine Strake Could Be Rescheduled For September
- Divine Strake session criticized
- ABC 4 News - Stop Divine Strake– Editorial and links to video news reports