EFFECTS OF AN ATOMIC BLAST ON ELECTRIC POWER FACILITIES

[Music] this is an atomic blast this one has a force equal to about 30,000 tons of TNT it is an awesome yet magnificent site United States has never been attacked by an atomic weon it's remote the electric light and power industry has long recognize the vital role of electric power in National Defense in the event of an attack on this country where damage to Electric facilities would surely occur the industry must be prepared to restore required electric service to damaged areas as rapidly as possible the electric utilities have an excellent record of restoring service following storms and disasters they have general knowledge of the extent and nature of damage caused by different types of disasters but they of course have had no experience in dealing with the effects of an atomic blast recognizing the desirability as a preparedness measure of obtaining information on the effects of an atomic explosion on electric power facilities the electric utility companies through their Nationwide Association the Edison electric Institute undertook to test electric power facilities at the 1955 civil effects tests at the Nevada test site as a part of the federal civil defense administration's industrial participation program the objectives of the electric utility participation in the test were threefold one to determine the effect of an atomic explosion on a typical electric power system two to determine the nature of the problem of rapidly restoring electric service to affected survival areas in the event of an atomic attack three to determine the relative ability of electric power facilities to withstand the effects of an atomic explosion and comparison with the structures they serve the pictures you're about to see tell the story of the test and some of the lessons learn the headquarters of the Nevada Test Site is at Mercury Nevada about 60 M Northwest of Las Vegas the Nevada Test Site is located on a desolate piece of desert real estate accessible only through mountain passes on the way to the test site is Camp desert rock where military personnel who participate in certain Atomic tests are quartered test Personnel pass through final security clearance and enter yucka flat where this particular test was held yucka flat is about 30 m north of mercury here service trucks are seen entering the test area this is a panoramic view of yucka flat note the sparse desert vegetation to the left of and Beyond this typical Joshua tree is the 500t steel Tower at top which the atomic device was detonated this is a panoramic sketch of the overall test area layout which will help explain the test setup here is the Shot Tower which contained the atomic device about 1 mile from the Shot Tower was the first of two test lines the second was about 2 mil away the setup on each of the lines was similar at the 1 mile line were electric transmission towers a substation a line of power poles and associated equipment also at this line were facilities tested by other organizations these facilities included a two-story Brick House a one-story wood frame house two specially reinforced one-story houses two radio towers a propane gas storage tank and other miscellaneous equipment at the 2 Mile Line the electrical equipment was identical to that at the 1em line equipment tested by other organizations at the 2m line was similar to that at the 1 mile line located there was a one-story woodframe house two specially reinforced one-story houses and other miscellaneous equipment also there were a number of mobile house trailers between the two lines there were located other test structures a short distance behind the on Mile Line was a twostory reinforced wood frame house about 1 mile and 1/3 from The Shot Tower were three industrial buildings such as the overall layout of the test area from the steel Shot Tower which was about as high as a 50-story building various test installations can be seen in the distance the test Tower which dwarfed all other installations at yucka flat was an impressive structure here is an overall view of the 1em test line as seen from a helicopter note the electric power poles the electric substation and steel transmission tower the electric equipment tested was of standard design and construction here are the two one-story specially reinforced houses they were designed to meet building code requirements for earthquake resistant structures this is a propane gas distribution pump house and an 18,000g propane storage tank the two specially reinforced houses the conventionally constructed yellow Bungalow and two-story red Brick House this is a view of a strengthened two-story wood frame house located a short distance behind the on Mile Line the pole on the right houses a camera at the 2m line a bungalow identical to that of the 1 mile line here is one of the two specially reinforced houses the camera swings over to the other one the electrical equipment at this line was identical to that of the 1 mile line and and finally the house trailers again at the 1em line from one of the steel transmission towers we see 600 ft away the second transmission tower and the electric Tower substation looking again at the first of the two towers it is of interest to point out that this one was knocked over by the blast this Tower is of relatively light construction since it was not designed to with stand snow and ice loads a heavier suspension design in all probability would not have failed from the forces that knocked this one over still at the on Mile Line a piece of industrial Machinery is being installed on the side of the two-story Brick House away from the blast this is to simulate a location behind the factory wall the vehicles shown here were not exposed to the test but were merely transportation for project Personnel no commercial transportation was available within the expansive test site for the most part project Personnel used vehicles provided through the test organization now for a closer view of the electric power substation with its circuit breakers switch gear Transformers and Regulators the small metal buildings on the left houses metering equipment and batteries an inspector arrives in a pickup truck to look over the substation as he stands by the circuit breakers an idea of the relative size of the structure can be obtained the substation foundations were of concrete and the the construction was essentially the same as that in substations in many Electric Systems here are seen the insulators and wiring on the super structure of the substation all the electrical equipment was tested before the blast took place and was found to be in complete operating condition it was not considered feasible to expose a large Generating Station to this test with existing interconnections among Utility Systems electric power could be transmitted from distant points if local generating facilities were destroyed or seriously damaged electric lines lead from the substation to the power poles that were also being exposed to the test here mannequins display clothing for testing heat effects note the male in Gray and the one in the white sheet for later metal comparison some official observers arriving to inspect the test installations the day before the test one of a group of Las Vegas high school students holding a televised interview with Dr Alvin C grave scientific adviser for the joint test organization a model of the electric power substation used in one of these interviews here Charles Collingwood questions one of the test officials the military also participated in this test here is a medium tank one of several that were located less than 2 miles from the blast Crews remained in these tanks during the test a final view of the Shot Tower seen to the left beyond the Joshua Tree the day before the test the blast went off at 510 a.m. on May 5th 1955 some observers watched the explosion through smoked glasses the brilliant 3se second flash lighted the Dark Skies of Six States great clouds of dust began rolling along the ground a Purple Haze forms around the edge of the Fireball the mushroom-shaped cloud can be seen developing as the fireball begins to fade out automatic cameras at the on Mile Line picked up these neck sequences the two-story house goes up as if made of toothpicks the power poles catch on fire then the blast extinguishes the fire this shot shows the blast in the background the electric power substation gets hit by the blast note how the framework rocks back and forth the woodf frame Bungalow begins to ignite then is Shattered by the blast the two-story Brick House a mannequin in a basement lean to shelter survives the blast in good shape the windows and doors are broken out of one of the specially reinforced houses the other reinforced house mannequins next to a venetian blind covered window receive the force of the blast this is a view looking up Ward from the base of one of the radio towers as the blast hits here are some shots of the radioactive Cloud about half an hour after the test and of test observers questioning officials a forlorn Joshua tree is mute evidence of the destructiveness of the blast here again is the overall test layout this is the one mile line the 2 Mile Line the three industrial buildings and the two-story reinforced woodf frame house from the helicopter comes a first look at the one mile line after the blast the electric power substation stands erect relatively undamaged nearby are the crumpled remains of the two-story Red Brick House the wood Bungalow is in chambles four of the 15 power poles were knocked down the two specially reinforced houses appear to be moderately damaged a view of the entire area is one of a great amount of Destruction an aerial view of the 2 Mile Line shows the electric power facilities all standing and apparently undamaged equipment tested by other organizations at this line appears to have suffered considerably lighter damage than counterparts at the one mile line on the ground at the 1 mile line the electric power substation suffered only minor damage which could be easily repaired typical structures it would serve such as the two-story brick house and the one-story Bungalow were in shambles the broken power poles could have been replaced with relatively little difficulty the two specially reinforced houses after the blast another view of the substation at the 1 mile line note the damaged instrument cubicle on the left these next scenes show the four power poles that were knocked over by the blast the heavy aerial cable these poles were carrying provided enough additional resistance to the blast to help topple the four poles this pole fell on the guywire of the radio transmission tower note the Transformer former that was knocked to the ground and broken here are other scenes showing the destruction caused by the blast several Transformers were knocked to the ground and some wires were broken the type of damage to electric power facilities was similar to that caused by severe wind storms and was due to blast and flying debris from other structures rather than from the thermal or radioactive effects of the blast none of the equipment was radioactive after the test the electric power facilities were not in the Fallout Zone and the area was found safe enough to permit repair Crews to have entered it within an hour or two after the blast and to have remained for a full day's work if the facilities were in The Fallout Zone entering the area so soon and remaining for an extended period would probably not have been possible heat effects of the blast did not cause significant damage to the electrical equipment this next view is a sweep of the power installations at the 1 mile line as can be seen damage to Electric facilities was relatively minor in general power poles and Hardware suffered little damage although in certain instances Transformers were blown to the ground wood insulator pins were sheared off and secondary wiring was snapped the hardware on the top of this pole was broken by the roof of the two-story Red Brick House the industrial machine located behind the Red Brick House suffered only only minor visible damage the instrument cubicle which housed metering equipment and batteries for the electric power substation suffered extensive damage here an inspector takes a look at what the blast did here are other views of the down poles as mentioned previously these poles carried heavy aerial cable that contributed to the forces causing their failure two of the poles snapped off at the ground the other two broke off about 6 ft above the ground alongside the substation were the two electric service trucks that were exposed to the blast one remained standing the other had been toppled on its side a closeup of the one that was toppled over the propane gas pump house at 18,000g storage tank after the blast the tank which was half full when the test took place suffered no apparent damage but the pump house was completely destroyed with debris scattered about the foundation lightly constructed bu buildings suffered severe damage at this line Salvage work on the two-story Brick House gets underway here are some close-up views that give a good idea of the extent of damage to this house located about one mile from the blast here is the strengthened two-story woodframe house located a short distance behind the one mile line note how the side facing the blast was severely scorched the undamaged band around the windows was protected by shutters which were subsequently blown off all windows and doors were blown out the upper half of the chimney was broken off and lay almost intact on the ground closeup view of one of the windows a broken television antenna two inspectors wearing special clothing and masks for protection against possible radiation first look over the damaged building then cautiously enter for further inspection here are some views of the three industrial type buildings located about a mile and 1/3 from the blast this building suffered severe damage this one was specially designed and withstood the blast best of the three the third building from which an inspector is leaving also suffered severe damage at the 2-m line one of the specially reinforced houses had its Windows blown out the one-story wood Bungalow suffered relatively little damage except for broken windows and doors the second specially reinforced house outside of window breakes was relatively unharmed there was no damage to electric power facilities at this line the clothing mannequins after the test the mannequin in Gray clothing was completely burned up note this mannequin in brown slacks the sun cast a shadow to the right under her hand the shadow is etched on the left the clothing is scorched except where shielded by the mannequin's hand the inspector outlines the portion of of clothing that was shielded from scorching the mannequin and the white sheet suffered no visible damage the white color reflected the heat away here are other samples of exposed materials samples under the white cloth covering were protected as the white reflected the Heat this test showed that dark colored materials do not reflect heat as well as light colored materials the inspector opens the sport shirt of this mannequin at the neck to show how the heat passed through the dark design of the sport shirt and burned imprints on the underwear similarly heat passed through the dark design on this dress and burned the imprint on the mannequin's arm note how the design of the skirt was imprinted on the white slip where the skirt material was folded no marking came through electrical and mechanical tests made on the undamaged electric power facilities showed no changes in values from tests made before the blast it is significant that major substation equipment which is most difficult and timec consuming to pair suffered little damage in an area where typical Urban residential dwellings were severely damaged the electric service truck that was carrying an earth boring machine was toppled on its side sliding the machine to the ground an initial inspection indicated that the truck and its equipment suffered comparatively little damage from the blast inspection also revealed that the equipment in the back of this service truck was undamaged the tires were slightly scorched but still had air the gasoline had not caught fire body damage to the vehicle was negligible one of the inspectors gets in the truck and starts the engine without any trouble and moves the vehicle into position to Upright the overturned service truck although the service truck that was overturned lost its Hood its serviceability was not affected after making a brief visual inspection of the vehicle the two inspectors enter it start the engine and drive away an atomic blast does not leave things as it found them as a result of this test the project officers who conducted the electric utility participation reached the following General conclusions in the event of an atomic attack it appears probable that electric power service could be restored to a stricken area before conventionally constructed residences could be reoccupied except in basements and either before or as soon as industrial plants could be cleared of debris and made ready for Operation the magnitude of the overall repair problem in the event of a nuclear attack would depend directly on the size of the area affected which is determined largely by the energy yield of the explosion and the meteorological influence on the radioactive cloud conditions of this test no particular repair problem would exist because of radioactivity if an area were generally inhabitable and hence require electric power maintenance Crews would be able to enter it and make repairs [Music]