Table 4. Distribution of underground tests relative to water table and estimated number of tests that have introduced test-generated contaminants into the ground-water flow system by major test area at the Nevada Test Site
[Working point is depth at which nuclear device is detonated;
water table is estimated or measured altitude of regional water
table prior to underground test; cavity radius (CR) is estimated
or measured radius of cavity formed after underground test
(typically determined by post-shot drilling as distance between
working point and lower surface of the radioactive glass
"puddle" formed in bottom of cavity). Source is U.S.
Department of Energy (1994). Calculations based on measurements
of cavity radius, and on working-point and static borehole
water-level depths, as summarized in classified listing of test
parameters (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, written
commun., 1991).]
| NTS area (figure 2) | Number of underground tests | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location of working point relative to water table | Tests that introduced contaminats into the ground-water flow system | ||||||||
| Below | Above | ||||||||
| Less than or equal to CR | Greater than one and less than or equal to two CR | Greater than two and less than or equal to five CR1 | Greater than five CR | Certain or probable2 | Maximum3 | Total4 | |||
| Yucca Flat | |||||||||
| 1 2 3 4 6 |
0 19 9 16 0 |
0 10 5 3 0 |
0 6 12 2 0 |
0 21 43 5 1 |
3 81 183 8 4 |
0 35 26 21 0 |
0 56 69 26 1 |
3 137 252 34 5 |
|
| 7 8 9 10 15 |
30 0 1 1 0 |
8 1 2 2 0 |
8 0 1 2 0 |
6 1 5 6 6 |
10 8 90 45 0 |
46 1 4 5 3 |
52 2 9 11 0 |
62 10 99 56 3 |
|
| Subtotal | 76 | 31 | 31 | 88 | 435 | 138 | 226 | 661 | |
| Pahute Mesa | |||||||||
| 19 20 |
14 20 |
15 22 |
3 3 |
2 1 |
2 3 |
32 45 |
34 46 |
36 49 |
|
| Subtotal | 34 | 37 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 77 | 80 | 85 | |
| Rainier Mesa | |||||||||
| 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 62 | |
| Frenchman Flat | |||||||||
| 5 11 |
1 0 |
2 1 |
1 1 |
1 3 |
0 0 |
4 2 |
5 5 |
5 5 |
|
| Subtotal | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 10 | |
| Shoshone Mesa | |||||||||
| 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| Buckboard Mesa | |||||||||
| 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Dome Mountain | |||||||||
| 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Total | 111 | 71 | 39 | 95 | 512 | 221 | 316 | 828 | |
1 Zone includes region of widespread fracturing caused by detonation.
2 Category defined as tests that certainly or probably have introduced test-generated contaminants directly into ground-water flow system; includes all tests detonated below water table and detonated above but within two cavity radii of water table.
3 Category defined as the maximum number of tests (includes certain or probable category) likely to have introduced test-generated contaminants into ground-water flow system; includes all tests detonated below water table and detonated above but within five cavity radii of water table.
4 Category includes all underground (and shallow cratering) tests. Number of tests is less than total number of detonations at Nevada Test Site because some tests include multiple detonations (U.S. Department of Energy, 1994).
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