24 « The Containment of Underground Nuclear Explosions

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Dy. MSPa
Photo creat Oetenss Nuciear Agency

End of Tunnel

comments in its recommendation letter to the
President. The Nevada Operations Office plans the

inventory to see if a suitable hole is available or if a
new one must be drilled.

individual tests with the responsible laboratory.

Once a hole is selected, the sponsoring laboratory
designs a plan to fill-in (or ‘*stem’’) the hole to

Both Livermore and Los Alamos maintain stock-

piles of holes in various areas ofthe test site.2! When
a specific test is proposed, the lab will check its

contain the radioactive material produced by the

explosion. The USGS and Earth scientists from
several organizations analyze the geology surround-

2IEach laboratory operates its own drilling crews conunuously to maximize the economy ofthe drilling operation.

Select target paragraph3