Sterling Reentry
Abstract
The Sterling Event was a 380-ton nuclear detonation conducted in the cavity remaining from the Salmon Event at a depth of 2717 ft in the Tatum salt dome near Hattiesburg, Miss. The reentry operation was undertaken thru a request by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to determine the general cavity conditions post Sterling, i.e., shape, temperature, pressure and radiation levels. The cavity investigation was conducted by reentry thru the 9-5/8-in. Sterling emplacement casing into the standing cavity. The original emplacement hole (Sta 1-A) as represented by the conditions in the 9-5/8-in. casing still has good integrity. The cavity was found to have a slight positive pressure (under 2 psig) upon reentry. Temperatures and radiation levels were obtained by in-hole geophysical logging tools. The levels measured were as predicted for temperatures ranging in the mid 150 deg. F. The radiation levels in the cavity ranged from 25 to 45 mR/hr increasing as the detector approached the cavity bottom from 2660 to 2742 ft.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 15, 1968
- Accession Number
- ADA382485
Entities
People
- Raymond S. Guido
Organizations
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory