Nuclear excavation: review and analysis

Abstract

Nuclear excavation appears to be an economical, practical and beneficial utilization of nuclear explosives. However, up to the present time, the technical, political and psychological implications of this application have presented a formidable barrier to its general acceptance. Nuclear cratering technology has been developed to the point where meaningful predictions of crater and channel sizes in selected media can be made with confidence. Continuing research is underway to extend basic cratering knowledge to saturated, fine-grained, and stratified media. Significant advances have been made in the evaluation of the magnitude and extent of the potential safety hazards associated with an underground nuclear cratering detonation. The state of the art of nuclear excavation is such that many projects appear feasible at the present time. The most apparent applications are concerned with the excavation of harbors, reservoirs, canals, and aggregate production. Nuclear excavation techniques provide a method of alleviating potentially catastrophic situations which could result from floods, landslides, and volcanoes, where all other measures would be less effective. The development of nuclear excavation into a standard engineering tool will be determined by factors not related entirely to its technical feasibility. The various political, social, and emotional pressures involved in its use will weigh heavily in its ultimate acceptance. The success of contained underground detonations for mining applications will significantly affect the future of nuclear excavation. Recent international discussions of nuclear nonproliferation have focused worldwide attention on the potential of nuclear excavation. Its acceptance appears to be only a matter of time. Nuclear excavation will come of age after the first project has been successfully completed. How long it takes before mankind can benefit from this new engineering tool greatly depends on an international willingness to cooperate in beating this all-powerful sword into a plowshare.