Trinity Site: 1945-1995. A National Historic Landmark White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico

Contents:

Radiation at Trinity Site. How to Get to Trinity Site. Trinity Site National Historic Landmark. The Manhattan Project. The Theory. Building a test site. Jumbo. Bomb Assembly. The test. After the explosion. It's the Schmidt house. Afterwards. White Sands Missile Range. Reading List.

"The effects could well be called unprecedented, magnificent, beautiful, stupendous, and terrifying. No man-made phenomenon of such tremendous power had ever occurred before. The lighting effects beggared description. The whole country was lighted by a searing light with the intensity many times that of the midday sun."

Brig. Gen. Thomas Farrell

Radiation at Trinity Site

In deciding whether to visit ground zero at Trinity Site, the following information may prove helpful to you.

Radiation levels in the fenced, ground zero area are low. On an average the levels are only 10 times greater than the region's natural background radiation. A one-hour visit to the inner fenced area will result in a whole body exposure of one-half to one milliroentgen.

To put this in perspective, a U.S. adult receives an average exposure of 90 milliroentgens every year from natural and medical sources. For instance, the Department of Energy says we receive between 35 and 50 milliroentgens every year from the sun and from 20 to 35 milliroentgens every year from our food. Living in a brick house adds 50 milliroentgens of exposure every year compared to living in a frame house. Finally, flying coast to coast in a jet airliner gives an exposure of between three and five milliroentgens on each trip.

Although radiation levels are low, some feel any extra exposure should be avoided. The decision is yours. It should be noted that small children and pregnant women are potentially more at risk than the rest of the population and are generally considered groups who should only receive exposure in conjunction with medical diagnosis and treatment. Again, the choice is yours.

At ground zero, Trinitite, the green, glassy substance found in the area, is still radioactive and must not be picked up.

Typical radiation exposures for Americans Per The National Council on Radiation Protection

On hour at ground zero = 1/2 mrem

Cosmic rays from space = 40 mrem at sea level per year

Radioactive minerals in rocks and soil = 55 mrems per year

Radioactivity from air, water, and food = anywhere from 20 to 400 mrem per year

About 22 mrem per chest X-ray and 900 mrem for whole-mouth dental X- rays

Smoking one pack of cigarettes a day for one year = 40 mrem

Miscellaneous such as watch dials and smoke detectors = 2 mrem per year

How to Get to Trinity Site

Trinity Site, where the world's first atomic bomb was exploded in 1945, is normally open to the public twice a year--on the first Saturday in April and October.

Trinity is located on the northern end of the 3,200-square-mile White Sands Missile Range, N.M., between the towns of Carrizozo and Socorro, N.M. There are two ways of entering the restricted missile range on tour days.

Visitors can enter through the range's Stallion Range Center which is five miles south of Highway 380. The turnoff is 12 miles east of San Antonio, N.M. , and 53 miles west of Carrizozo, N.M. The Stallion gate will be open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visitors arriving at the gate between those hours will receive handouts and will be allowed to drive unescorted the 17 miles to Trinity Site. The road is paved and marked.

The other way of entering the missile range is by travelling with a caravan sponsored by the Alamogordo (N.M.) Chamber of Commerce. The caravan forms at the Otero County Fairgrounds in Alamogordo and leaves at 8 a.m. Visitors entering this way will travel as an escorted group with military police to and from Trinity Site. The drive is 170 miles