Peaceful Nuclear Explosions II: Their Practical Application; Proceedings of a Panel on the Practical Applications of the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Explosions Organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency and Held in Vienna 18-22 January 1971

[12], 355, [1] pages. Tables. Figures. Formulae. References. List of Participants. Some text in French and Russian. Ex-library with the usual library markings. Some moisture stains noted--all pages separated and text clear. This is one of the Panel Proceedings Series. This panel was primarily concerned with practical applications of PNE for industrial purposes. Sixty-four nominated participants (including the eight panelists) from 25 Member States and three other international organizations attended. Twenty technical papers were presented. In addition some Member States offered summary statement on activities in PNE which updated the similar statements made by participants at the first panel (2-6 March 1970). To complete the Proceedings a short technical was included at the end. Principal items on the agenda concerned natural gas and oil reservoir stimulation, creation of underground cavities for storage of gas and oil, relatively new concepts for PNE applications and the potential safety problems associated with the various applications. The results of several experiments designed to stimulate the production of gas and oil from underground reservoirs indicated significant stimulation of production to date, although certain of the mechanisms for stimulation are not as yet fully understood. Experimental data of interest on the creation of cavities in salt domes which could be used for gas and oil storage, plus economic analyses of such applications, including industrial advantages. pointed out the strong potential for and interest in this application. Among the topics addressed were: Industrial Applications of Peaceful Nuclear Explosions, Natural Gas Stimulation, Oil Reservoir Stimulation, Underground Engineering Applications, Underground Engineering Explosive and Emplacement Considerations, Natural Gas Field Development with Nuclear Explosives, Nuclear Explosive Engineering Technology, Storage of Natural Gas in Cavities, Extinguishing Uncontrolled Gas Wells, Mechanical and Seismic Effects, Explosion Seismology, Radiological Assessments, Plowshare Detonation Risk Estimations. Radiological Safety, Radioactivity Released by Nuclear Explosions. Peaceful nuclear explosions (PNEs) are nuclear explosions conducted for non-military purposes. Proposed uses include excavation for the building of canals and harbors, electrical generation, the use of nuclear explosions to drive spacecraft, and as a form of wide-area fracking. PNEs were an area of some research from the late 1950s into the 1980s, primarily in the United States and Soviet Union. In the U.S., a series of tests were carried out under Project Plowshare. Some of the ideas considered included blasting a new Panama Canal, the use of underground explosions to create electricity,[citation needed] and a variety of geological studies. The largest of the excavation tests was carried out in the Sedan nuclear test in 1962, which released large amounts of radioactive gas into the air. By the late 1960s, public opposition to Plowshare was increasing, and a 1970s study of the economics of the concepts suggested they had no practical use. Plowshare saw decreasing interest from the 1960s, and was officially canceled in 1977. The Soviet program started a few years after the U.S. efforts and explored many of the same concepts under their Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy program. The program was more extensive, eventually conducting 239 nuclear explosions. Some of these tests also released radioactivity, including a significant release of plutonium into the groundwater and the polluting of an area near the Volga River. A major part of the program in the 1970s and 80s was the use of very small bombs to produce shock waves as a seismic measuring tool, and as part of these experiments, two bombs were successfully used to seal blown-out oil wells. The program officially ended in 1988. As part of ongoing arms control efforts, both programs came to be controlled by a variety of agreements.…