24 © The Containment of Underground Nuclear Explosions
Photo credit Defense Nuciear Agency
End of Tunnel
comments in its recommendation letter to the
President. The Nevada Operations Office plans the
individual tests with the responsible laboratory.
Both Livermore and Los Alamos maintain stock-
piles of holes in various areas ofthetest site.?! When
a specific test is proposed, the lab will check its
inventory to see if a suitable hole is available or if a
new one must be drilled.
Once a holeis selected, the sponsoring laboratory
designs a plan to fill-in (or **stem’’) the hole to
contain the radioactive material produced by the
explosion. The USGS and Earth scientists from
several organizations analyze the geology surround-
21Each laboratory operates its own drilling crews conunuously to maximize the economy of the drilling operation.