From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Geologic damage caused by underground nuclear testing
Rainier Mesa at the
Nevada Test Site
Tired mountain syndrome is a condition in which
underground nuclear testing fractures and weakens rock, increasing permeability and the risk of release of
radionuclides and
radioactive contamination of the environment.
[1] Locations said to have undergone the syndrome include the
French Polynesian island of
Moruroa ,
[2]
Rainier Mesa in the United States,
[3] the
Dnepr 1 nuclear test site on the
Kola Peninsula in Russia,
[1] possibly
Mount Lazarev in the
Novaya Zemlya Test Site in Russia,
[a] and
Mount Mantap in North Korea.
[5]
[6]
[7]
See also
^ The
Matochkin Shar site
73°23′N 54°24′E / 73.39°N 54.40°E / 73.39; 54.40 is called out in a 1993 USGS report;
[4] the report does not mention tired mountain syndrome by name, but notes 72 percent of the 36 tests at Matochkin Shar leaked radionuclides, and in four tests seepage along fractures or faults in the rock is "specifically described" in Russian geological reports.
References
^
a
b Adushkin, Vitaly V.; Leith, William (September 2001),
" 'Tired Mountain' Syndrome" (PDF) , Containment of Soviet Underground Nuclear Explosions ,
United States Geological Survey , pp. 35–37, Open File Report 01-312
^ van Ginneken, Jaap (2003).
Collective Behavior and Public Opinion: Rapid Shifts in Opinion and Communication . European Institute for the Media Series. Taylor & Francis. p. 126.
ISBN
978-1-135-62903-8 .
^
The Containment of Underground Nuclear Explosions (PDF) , U.S. Congress,
Office of Technology Assessment , October 1989, p. 51,
LCCN
89-600707 , OTA-ISC-414 (
full document )
^ Matzko, John R. (1993),
Physical Environment of the Underground Nuclear Test Site on Novaya Zemlya, Russia (PDF) , United States Geological Survey, pp. 4, 8–10, 20, Open File Report 93-501
^ Eric Limer (October 20, 2017),
"Is North Korea's Nuke-Testing Mountain at Risk of Collapse? Satellite imagery suggests the underground blasts may be taking their toll" ,
Popular Mechanics
^
N. Korea nuclear test site may have 'Tired Mountain Syndrome' ,
Agence France-Presse , October 19, 2017 – via
Straits Times
^ Anna Fifield (October 20, 2017),
"After six tests, the mountain hosting North Korea's nuclear blasts may be exhausted" ,
The Washington Post