The United States on Wednesday completed a nuclear test that did not involve the fission process necessary for atomic detonations, the National Nuclear Security Administration said.
The trial, dubbed “Pollux,” would yield findings critical for ensuring the dependability of the U.S. nuclear deterrent, the semiautonomous Energy Department agency said in a press release. The study took place at the Nevada National Security Site and involved personnel based at that complex, as well as with specialists from the Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories in New Mexico.
“Challenging subcritical experiments maintain our capabilities to ensure that we can support a safe, secure and effective stockpile without having to conduct underground testing,” NNSA Administrator Thomas D’Agostino said in provided remarks. “I applaud the work done by the men and women who worked to make this experiment successful. Experiments such as this help deliver President Obama’s nuclear security agenda.”
The subcritical test was the 27th in a series of exercises completed to examine how plutonium responds to a conventional explosive detonation. The last such trial, “Barolo B,” took place on Feb. 2, 2011.
Read more at U.S. Conducts Nonexplosive Nuclear Test
Who is really made safer by these tests? How about the “personnel” who handle the plutonium, for starts?