Call For Speakers - 2011 NREP Technical Conference

People attending NREP’s Technical Conference and Certification Workshops are invited to attend a special tour of the Nevada National Security Site, Wednesday, October 5, 2011.

The Department of Energy (DOE), and its predecessor agencies the Energy Research and Development Administration and the Atomic Energy Commission, conducted nuclear tests and other experiments at the Nevada National Security Site, which helped maintain world peace, and the national security of the United States.

Since the establishment of the Nevada National Security Site in 1951, only authorized people have visited this vast outdoor laboratory that is larger than the state of Rhode Island, to see firsthand, artifacts and archaeological sites from the early settlers, to the many relics remaining from nuclear weapons tests, nuclear rocket experiments, and a variety of other defense, environmental, and energy-related programs.

General Information

The DOE tour bus will depart from the Atomic Testing Museum at 755 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, Nevada. The Tour will depart at approximately 7:30 a.m. and return at 4:00 p.m. The museum is only a short taxi ride from the Riviera Hotel, so arrange to arrive by 7:30 a.m.

The tour mode of transportation provided is usually a chartered bus equipped with a restroom.

The Nevada National Security Site is located 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. Each tour usually covers about 250 miles. Tour participants should bring their own food and drinks, but no alcoholic beverages. There are no lunch stops.

Casual clothing is recommended, and sturdy shoes are required for the rugged terrain. No shorts or sandals are permitted.

Visitors to the Nevada National Security Site must be at least 14 years old. Pregnant women are discouraged from participating in Nevada National Security Site tours because of the long bus ride and uneven terrain.

Points of Interest

Mercury is the main base camp for the Nevada National Security Site and the second largest community in Nye County.

Frenchman Flat, where on January 27, 1951, the first atmospheric nuclear test on the Nevada National Security Site, ABLE, took place. Thirteen subsequent atmospheric nuclear tests were conducted at the site between 1951 and 1962.

Nonproliferation Test and Evaluation Complex is used by the chemical and petroleum industry and government agencies to test spill dispersion and mitigation and cleanup procedures.

Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Site for the disposal of radioactive waste from the dismantlement and cleanup of DOE and DoD’s weapons production complex.

Control Point-1 was the command post used for conducting nuclear tests. Today, it plays an important role supporting other Nevada National Security Site missions

News Nob was a viewpoint from which journalists and visiting dignitaries witnessed atmospheric tests.

Sedan was a cratering experiment as part of the Plowshare program - the peaceful uses of nuclear explosives. The 104-kiloton nuclear device explosion displaced about 12 million tons of earth, creating a crater 1,280 feet in diameter and 320 feet deep. This underground test was conducted on July 6, 1962.

Security Requirements

Because the Nevada National Security Site is a restricted access government reservation, visitors need to supply the following background information to NREP NO LATER THAN SEPTEMBER 16, 2011:

Special Conference Tour