British Protesters Reported Inside Nuclear Test Site
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LAS VEGAS — Three London women who are members of Greenpeace have infiltrated the Nevada Test Site in an effort to reach ground zero and stop today’s test of a British nuclear weapon, a spokeswoman for the environmental group said Tuesday.
“The women are safe and are still moving toward their objective,” said Junior Bridge, of Greenpeace in Washington. “ . . . They are close enough that their lives would be in danger if the test is set off.”
But Energy Department spokesman Jim Boyer said security officials at the sprawling desert site were unaware of any infiltration.
The Energy Department announced Monday it would conduct a test for Great Britain at 9 a.m. today at Pahute Mesa, 105 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The device is buried 1,900 feet underground and is expected to produce an explosive force of 20 to 150 kilotons of TNT.
Underground tests of that size can cause 40 Gs of pressure at ground zero.
Bridge identified the women as Juley Howard, 23, Jane Gregory, 27, and Lorna Richardson, 25.
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