Item Details

Gamma-Ray Spectrometry as a Tool for Exploring Archaeological Nuclear Facilities: A Case Study from the Nevada Test Site Nuclear Rocket Development Station

Issue: Vol 6 No. 2 (2019)

Journal: Journal of Contemporary Archaeology

Subject Areas: Archaeology

DOI: 10.1558/jca.36566

Abstract:

Since its first demonstration in the early 2000s, the exploration of gamma-ray spectrometry (GRS) applications as a geophysical tool in archaeology remains nascent. While intentional neutron activation, which requires a gamma-ray analysis, has seen increasing use as a geoforensics technique in archaeology, little or no research has been published concerning the possibility of GRS as an industrial archaeological tool for use in exploring nuclear sites or facilities where neutron activation and surface contamination may have already occurred. Consequently, the use of GRS as a geophysical tool for the archaeological investigation of abandoned or decommissioned nuclear facilities is proposed, demonstrated, and discussed using a case study from the Nevada Test Site Nuclear Rocket Development Station.

Author: Ben W. McGee

View Original Web Page

References :

Baum, E. M., M. C. Ernesti, H. D. Knox, T. R. Miller and A. M. Watson. 2010. Nuclides and Isotopes: Chart of the Nuclides (17th edition). Schnectady, NY: Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory.

Beck, C. M. 2002. “The Archaeology of Scientific Experiments at a Nuclear Testing Ground.” In Matériel Culture: The Archaeology of Twentieth Century Conflict, edited by J. Schofield, W. G. Johnson and C. M. Beck, 65–79. New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203165744_chapter_7

Bolden, C. 2017. “Testimony of the Hon. Charles F. Bolden, Jr., Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.” In An Overview of the Budget Proposal for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for Fiscal Year 2017: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Space. Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourteenth Congress, Second Session March 17, 2016, 39–72. Serial No. 114–68. Washington, DC: US Government Publishing Office. Available online: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-114hhrg20838/pdf/CHRG-114hhrg20838.pdf

Bonino, G., C. G. Castagnoli and N. Bhandari. 1992. “Measurement of Cosmogenic Radionuclides in Meteorites with a Sensitive Gamma-Ray Spectrometer.” Il Nuovo Cimento C 15: 99–104. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02507775

Bussard, R. W. 1953. Nuclear Energy for Rocket Propulsion. Report ORNL CF-53-6-6. Oak Ridge, TN: Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

____. 1962. “Nuclear Fission Rockets: Problems, Progress and Promise.” In Advances in Astronautical Propulsion: Proceedings of a Seminar Held by Istituto Lombardo Accademia Di Scienze E Lettere in Collaboration with the Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development of NATO, edited by C. Casci, 165–220. New York: Pergamon Press.

Cabble, K., M. Krauss and P. Matthews. 2012. “Nevada National Security Site Industrial Sites Project Closeout.” In 2012 Waste Management Symposia; Phoenix, AZ; 26 February-01 March 2012; Conference Proceedings, Paper 12498. Tempe, AZ: WM Symposia Available online: http://www.wmsym.org/archives/2012/papers/12498.pdf

Chandler, G., D. Collins, K. Dye, C. Eberhart, M. Hynes, R. Kovach, R. Ortiz, J. Perea and D. Sherman. 1993. “Assessment of the Facilities on Jackass Flats and other Nevada Test Site Facilities for the New Nuclear Rocket Program.” Tenth Symposium on Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion; Albuquerque, NM, 10-14 January 1993. Los Alamos, NM: Los Alamos National Laboratory. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.43082

Clark, K. 2005. “From Valves to Values: Industrial Archaeology and Heritage Practice.” In Industrial Archaeology: Future Directions, edited by E. C. Casella and J. Symonds, 95–119. New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-22831-4_5

Corliss, W. R. and F. C. Schwenk. 1971. Nuclear Propulsion for Space. Washington, DC: United States Atomic Energy Commission.

Dewar, J. A. 2007. To the End of the Solar System: The Story of the Nuclear Rocket (2nd edition). Ontario: Apogee Books.

Drollinger, H., C. M. Beck and N. Goldenberg. 2000. Nevada Test Site, Test Cell C Facility, Building 3210. Historic American Engineering Record NV-30-A. Washington, DC: US National Park Service.

Eck, R. W. 1996. “Remote Sensing Technology Applied to Site Documentation.” In Industrial Archaeology: Techniques, edited by E. L. Kemp, 123–132. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing.

Fellows, W. S. and H. B. Finger. 1962. “RIFT.” Astronautics 7 (December): 38–47.

Ferreira, P. A. L., R. C. L. Figueira, E. Siegle, N. E. A. Neto, C. C. Martins, C. A. F. Schettini, P. M. Maciel, F. Garcia-Rodriguez and M. M. Mahiques. 2016. “Using a Cesium-137 (137Cs) Sedimentary Fallout record in the South Atlantic Ocean as a Supporting Tool for Defining the Anthropocene.” Anthropocene 14: 34–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2016.06.002

Fishbine, B., R. Hanrahan, S. Howe, R. Malenfant, C. Scherer, H. Sheinberg and O. Ramos. 2011. “Nuclear Rockets: To Mars and Beyond.” National Security Science 1: 16–24.

Gerrish, H. P. 2014. “Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Ground Test History.” In 2014 Nuclear Emerging Technologies for Space Conference: 24-26 Feb. 2014; Stennis Space Center, MS. Conference Proceedings. Available online: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20140008771

Gilmore, G. 2008. Practical Gamma-Ray Spectrometry (2nd edition). Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons.

Gollnick, D. A. 2011. Basic Radiation Protection Technology. Altadena, CA: Pacific Radiation Corporation.

Gorman, A. 2009. “Cultural Landscape of Space.” In Handbook of Space Engineering, Archaeology, and Heritage, edited by A. G. Darrin and B. L. O’Leary, 8–107. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781420084320

Gunn, S. 2001. “Nuclear Propulsion – A Historical Perspective.” Space Policy 17 (4): 291–298. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0265-9646(01)00044-3

House, W. C. 1964. “The Development of Nuclear Rocket Propulsion in the United States.” In Journal of the British Interplanetary Society 19 (8): 317–318.

Howe, S. D. 1986. “Assessment of the Advantages and Feasibility of a Nuclear Rocket for a Manned Mars Mission.” In Marshall Space Flight Center Manned Mars Mission Working Group Papers 2 (5): 856–872. Available online: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19870008361.pdf

Kearey, P., M. Brooks and I. Hill. 2002. An Introduction to Geophysical Exploration. Oxford: Blackwell.

Kemp, E. L. 1996. “The Dioscuri: Industrial Archaeology and the History of Technology.” In Industrial Archaeology: Techniques, edited by E. L. Kemp, 1–6. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing.

Kraemer, R. S. 2006. Rocketdyne: Powering Humans into Space. Reston, VA: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Kruzic, M., P. S. Morris and J. G. Nelson. 2005. Nevada Test Site Decontamination and Decommissioning Program History, Regulatory Framework, and Lessons Learned. DOE/NV–1462. Las Vegas, NV: US Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Site Office. Available online: https://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/908403

____. and J. G. Nelson. 2008. Nuclear Rocket Test Facility Decommissioning Including Controlled Explosive Demolition of a Neutron-Activated Shield Wall. DOE/NV/11718–10110ABS. Las Vegas, NV: US Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Site Office. Available online: https://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/850324

Laird, C. E. 1982. “Studies of Neutron and Proton Nuclear Activation in Low-Earth Orbit.” In 1982 NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program. NASA Contractor Report 162051, edited by B. F. Barfield, M. I. Kent, J. Dozier and G. Karr, XXIII-1–16. [Huntsville], AL: Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA. Available online: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19830009088.pdf

Matzke, B. D., J. E. Wilson, L. L. Newburn, S. T. Dowson, J. E. Hathaway, L. H. Sego, L. M. Bramer and B. A. Pulsipher. 2014. Visual Sample Plan Version 7.0 User’s Guide. PNNL-23211. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. https://doi.org/10.2172/1124046

McVarish, D. C. 2008. American Industrial Archaeology: A Field Guide. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.

Miller, M. G. 1984. Nevada Test Site Area 25 Radiological Survey and Cleanup Project 1974-1983. Las Vegas, NV: Reynolds Electrical & Engineering. https://doi.org/10.2172/6120162

Moussa, M. 2001. “Gamma-Ray Spectrometry: A New Tool for Exploring Archaeological Sites; A Case Study from East Sinai, Egypt.” Journal of Applied Geophysics 48 (3): 137–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0926-9851(01)00077-5

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). 2012. Technology Readiness Level Definitions. Report JSC-CN-25752. Available online: https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/458490main_TRL_Definitions.pdf

Portree, D. S. F. 1998. NASA’s Origins and the Dawn of the Space Age. Monographs in Aerospace History 10 / Report 19980236048. Washington, DC: NASA History Division. Available online: https://history.nasa.gov/monograph10/

____. 2001. Human to Mars: Fifty Years of Mission Planning, 1950-2000. Monographs in Aerospace History 21 / SP-2001-4521. Washington, DC: NASA History Division.

Reno, R. L. 1985. “Clovis Projectile Points from Lahontan Reservoir and the Nevada Test Site, Nevada.” Nevada Archaeologist 5 (1): 7-9.

Robbins, W. H. and H. B. Finger. 1991. An Historical Perspective of the NERVA Nuclear Rocket Engine Technology Program. NASA Contractor Report 187154. [Cleveland], OH: Lewis Research Center, NASA. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.1991-3451

Schiffer, M. B. 2013. The Archaeology of Science: Studying the Creation of Useful Knowledge. Manuals in Archaeological Method, Theory and Technique 9. Heidelberg: Springer.

____. 1948. “The Atomic Rocket – 1-2.” In Journal of the British Interplanetary Society 7: 185–194, 250–262.

Shepherd, L. R. and A. V. Cleaver. 1949. “The Atomic Rocket – 3.” In Journal of the British Interplanetary Society 8: 23–36.

Tite, M. S. 1972. Methods of Physical Examination in Archaeology. New York: Academic Press.

US Bureau of Reclamation. 2017. “Hoover Dam: Frequently Asked Questions and Answers.” Available online: https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/faqs/powerfaq.html

US Department of Energy, Nevada Site Office. 2005. Streamlined Approach for Environmental Restoration Plan for Corrective Action Unit 116: Area 25 Test Cell C Facility, Nevada Test Site, Nevada. DOE/NV–1132. Las Vegas, NV: US Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Site Office. Available online: https://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/901878-nGEL6r/

____. 2006. Closure Report for Corrective Action Unit 115: Area 25 Test Cell A Facility, Nevada Test Site, Nevada. DOE/NV – 1109 Las Vegas, NV: US Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Site Office. Available online: https://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/901860

____. 2011a. Addendum to the Closure Report for Corrective Action Unit 113: Area 25 R-MAD Facility, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada. DOE/NV – 891-VOL1-REV1-ADD. Las Vegas, NV: US Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Site Office. Available online: https://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/1010426

____. 2011b. Closure Report for Corrective Action Unit 116: Area 25 Test Cell C Facility, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada. DOE/NV – 1462. Las Vegas, NV: US Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Site Office. Available online: https://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/1026855

US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. 1970. Radiological Health Handbook. Rockville, MD: Bureau of Radiological Health. https://doi.org/10.2172/4708654