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Nevada Test Site
Site Overview
The Nevada Test Site, operated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is
located approximately 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, in a sparsely
populated region. The site encompasses approximately 1,375 square miles of
desert and mountainous terrain. The Nevada Test Site is surrounded by
approximately 4,500 square miles of federally owned and Department of Defense
controlled land.
The Nevada Test Site was historically used by DOE to conduct field testing of
nuclear explosives in connection with research and development functions of
nuclear weapons. In the earliest days, aboveground atmospheric testing of
nuclear weapons was the standard practice until in 1963. Nuclear testing
practices changed course in the 1960s with the realization that underground
testing was both a safer practice and less likely to be observed through
long-range detection methods.
Site Descriptions
The DOE Office of Environmental Management Program at the Nevada Test Site
consists of two primary projects, Environmental Restoration and Waste
Management. The Environmental Restoration Project is to assess and perform
appropriate corrective actions at former underground test locations,
atmospheric test locations, and other industrial-type sites. This project
consists of three subprojects – the Underground Test Area, Soils, and
Industrial Sites subprojects.
The Waste Management Project is to support the closure of DOE sites across the
United States by maintaining the capability to dispose low-level waste and
mixed low-level waste. The Nevada Test Site is designated as a primary regional
disposal site for low-level waste and secondary disposal site for mixed
low-level waste generated as the result of cleanup activities across the DOE
complex. Additionally, the Waste Management Project is responsible for the
storage, treatment, and disposition of legacy on-site transuranic and mixed
transuranic waste.
The primary short-term project will be the completion of disposition of all
legacy transuranic/mixed transuranic waste and material by the end of FY 2007.
The majority of the remediation scope within the Environmental Restoration and
Waste Management Projects is long-term and planned for completion in FY 2027.
Site Links
Nevada Test Site 
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