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Military Application
The re-entry team, on Monday, March 16, 1964, observed a
crack in the solid ground approximately 30 feet northnortheast of the rim of the crater (130 feet from ground —
zero) and estimated this crack to be approximately eight
or ten feet in length (at the surface) with a gas eroded,
highly radioactive hole approximately four inches in
diameter near the north end of the crack.
The conclusions reached after an extensive investigation
were as follows:
a.
The most probable cause of the venting was an apparent
local weakness of the alluvium which cracked under the
ground shock from PIKE and thus permitted the escape
of the debris.
b.
c.
As of March 22, 1964, (nine days after the detonation)
‘there was no evidence that a health hazard had been
created, On the basis of current evidence, none‘is
expected to develop.
DOE ARCHIVES
The elaborate network of stations supported by airborne
sampling equipment, all designed to completely document
inadvertent ventings, has to date functioned as planned.
There is no positive evidence that debris crossed the
border in measurable and identifiable amounts.
If trace
amounts did cross the border, they were not measurable
by normal aerial surveys since measured radiation levels
in Ariz. were almost at background values, as determined
by the extremely sensitive instruments in the AEC monitering aircraft.
TEST PLANNING
Underground Test Series ~- NIBLICK - NTS
NIBLICK IV(April - June 1964)
A tentative schedule of events for April is as follows:
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