What Happens In Mercury, NV Stays In Mercury, NV

In mid-August of 2009 I had the pleasure of traveling to Nevada to spend a week in a Department of Homeland Security class - WMD Radiological/Nuclear Course for Hazardous Materials Technicians - sounds fun right? It was an eye-opener. For most first responders, nuclear/radiological hazards are a myth, only spoken about in passing, usually with a "but that will never happen here" disclaimer before quickly moving on to another topic. Radiation invokes thoughts of silent, invisible, impalpable waves of death, and in some cases that's very true. The biggest thing I walked away with is a new understanding, that rad/nuke is a lot like other hazmat, in that it's all about knowing what you're dealing with. You could shower with plutonium, rub it all over your body, and be totally fine. Other isotopes will kill you a hundred feet away. So now you know, and knowing is half the battle. (P.S. The G.I. Joe movie was horrible!)

The class took part in two places: a hotel in Las Vegas and the Nevada Test Site in Mercury, Nevada, about two hours outside of Las Vegas. The Las Vegas strip was cool, but the Nevada Test Site (NTS) was more interesting. We had to surrender our cell phones, cameras, and laptops before entering. I got to stand on the spot where at least ten nuclear bombs were detonated and measure lingering background radiation from fifty years ago. I stood on the edge of the largest man-made crater in the United States. I slept in housing where nuclear scientists and astronauts have stayed. The NTS has an amazing history, over 900 nuclear detonations in a patch of desert the size of the state of Rhode Island.

If you'd like more info on the Nevada Test Site, check here.

If you're in Vegas and want to learn about the history of the nuclear testing there, check out the Atomic Testing Museum. Trust me, it's way more interesting than it sounds.

If you'd like to sign up to take the Rad/Nuke course, sign up here.