developed for the safety experiment which was conducted April 24, 1957. The area, 10 x 16 miles and loated about eight miles west of the Groom Mine, was withdrawn from grazing before the first ready date of the experiment, April 10. Contract and Construction Data ‘ From activation on January 1, 1951, through January 1, 1957, the total cost to the AEC of permanent construction at NTS has been $13,546,829. This does not include the cost of test structures, test equipment, or other facilities in forward firing areas, which are considered either expendable or, at best, only semi-permanent. The total does not include quonsets, hutments, warehouses and other facilities and equipment, mainly of a nonpermanent nature, supplied by the Department of Defense. It is probable that the total United States investment at NTS in permanent, semi-permanent, and presently reusable structures, equipment and other facilities approximates $23,000,000. SupportingInstallations NTS has two general areas: ward or technical area. the Camp Mercury area and the for- The latter is further divided by operating personnel into the Control Point area, the Yucca Basin area, and the Frenchman Flat area. Camp Mercury is five miles north of Highway 95. The official name -~ it has had a post office since March 1, 1952 -- and one that is becoming more commonly used as the years.pass, is "Mercury, Nye County, Nevada." The camp provides office space and living quarters for civilian and military test organization personnel in both temporary and permanent quarters. Also provided are utilities, warehouses, mess halls, recreation facilities, motor pool, laboratory facilities, and administrative offices. New construction Since the 1955 series, including 14 men's and two women's dormitories, has helped relieve but has not removed the overcrowding which exists just before and during test series, Maximum popula- tion at the camp in 1955 was 2700. It is estimated that 3500 was the peak population for the 1957 series, and trailers are being used extensively. Camp Desert Rock is an Army installation approximately 63 miles northwest of Las Vegas, adjacent to the AEC's Camp Mercury and just outside the boundaries of the Nevada Test Site. It is largely a trailer and tent camp around a nucleus of semi-permanent structures, contracting to less than 100 personnel during non-test periods and expanding, in the 1955 series, to : . ~ ~~ t <Oys- ~ WU