1970 – ‘Baneberry’ detonated in a vertical shaft 912 feet (277m) beneath Yucca Flat area U8 at 1530 GMT with a yield of 10 kilotons from the LLNL weapons development device during Operation Emery, causing a 5.2 magnitude ground shock, creating a 492 foot (150m) diameter subsidence crater and venting 6.7 million curies of gross fission products that spread out beyond NTS. 666th U.S. test. Coordinates: 37.17309, -116.09973.
Side Note: — Three minutes after Zero Time, raw radioactive effluents and dust began forcibly venting from a fissure that had opened near surface ground zero and from the shaft itself because of failed stemming. The venting continued for 24 hours creating the worst radiological release since atmospheric testing was halted. Eighty-six NTS workers received higher levels of radiation than allowed. Two security guards who were ordered into the area developed leukemia and died within four years. The release of 80,000 curies of I-131 was by far the worst accidental release at NTS and was detected in milk samples elsewhere in Nevada. For anyone interested in numerology, please note this was the 666th U.S. test.
