Review of Soviet data on the peaceful uses of nuclear explosions

Abstract

Over the last several years through a series of international meetings sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a number of publications, the Soviet union has disclosed that they have a very active program for developing peaceful uses of nuclear explosions (PNE) in their rational economy. They have described the results of 14 experimental and industrial explosions designed to develop nine different applications in the petroleum, gas, and minerals industries as well as for water resources development. However, when one considers large number of large unidentified seismic events that have been reported over the last seven years in areas of the Soviet Union outside the normal nuclear-weapon test areas, it is obvious that they have an even more active program than they have publicly described, one that must be approaching a routine industrial technology in some areas. The PNE program that the Soviets have publicly discussed in various reports and at various meetings is summarized and, when appropriate, compared to data from the US Plowshare Program. (auth)

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