Nevada Test Site

Formerly known as the Nevada Proving Ground, Nevada Test Site (NTS) was established in the southern tip of Nevada as a nuclear testing site by the US Department of Energy. More than 1000 square miles of desert and mountains were used for nuclear detonation tests from January 11, 1951 until September 23, 1992.

Most of the tests were conducted underground, but during the 50s, the mushroom clouds from testing became a tourist attraction in Las Vegas. Tourists could witness the distant plumes—visible for almost 100 miles—from downtown hotels.

The site is considered one of the most radioactive contaminated sites in the US. A 1979 article in the New England Journal of Medicine noted an abnormal number of children under 14 living in Utah between 1959 and 1967 died as a result of leukemia.

Besides highly carcinogenic radioactive materials used at the NTS, asbestos was a prominent material used throughout the plant's operations.