The Pinot Project was designed to provide some indication of the extent to which gases from a confined underground explosion in oil shale would migrate parallel to the bedding planes. At 0800 on Aug. 2, 1960, 946 lb of nitromethane was fired in shot hole No. 1. There was no visible damage to the mine adit or to any structure associated with cation of the extent to which gases from a confined underground explosion in oil shale would migrate parallel to the bedding planes. At 0800 on Aug. 2, 1960, 946 lb of nitromethane was fired in shot hole No. …
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California Univ., Livermore. Lawrence Radiation Lab.
Place of Publication:
Livermore, California
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The Pinot Project was designed to provide some indication of the extent to which gases from a confined underground explosion in oil shale would migrate parallel to the bedding planes. At 0800 on Aug. 2, 1960, 946 lb of nitromethane was fired in shot hole No. 1. There was no visible damage to the mine adit or to any structure associated with cation of the extent to which gases from a confined underground explosion in oil shale would migrate parallel to the bedding planes. At 0800 on Aug. 2, 1960, 946 lb of nitromethane was fired in shot hole No. 1. There was no visible damage to the mine adit or to any stnucture associated with the workings. Gas samples collected from sampling holes near the shot hole were analyzed for Kr/sup 85/, which had been included with the nitromethane as a tracer. It appeared that the Kr/sup 85/ concentration in the samples out to 50 ft was more or less independent of space and time between +2 and +50 hr. Relativsly little Kr/sup 85/ was detected at 125 ft and none beyond. About (20 plus or minus 10)% of the Kr/sup 85/ escaped into ths adit. The results of the Pinot experiment cannot be extrapolated quantitatively to the case of a nuclear explosion in oil shale. Even if the structure at the Pinot site is typical of oil shale, the generation of a smaller quantity of noncondensible gases per unit energy in a nuclear explosion (as compared with a chemical explosion), the shonter time scale of the ensrgy release and the higher temperatares and pressures encountered will all have a definite influence on the effective containment distance. One can conclude, however, that, if the medium at the site of a potential nuclear experiment is similar to that at Pinot, the radioactive gases will not travel preferentially in directions parallel to the bedding planes, but rather will tend to expand mors or less spherically from the shot point. In other words, an explosion in oil shale designed not to vent in a direction perpendicular to the bedning planes will be just as tight parallel to the bedding planes. (auth)
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Adelman, F. L.; Bacigalupi, C. M. & Momyer, F. F.Final Report on the Pinot Experiment,
report,
December 27, 1960;
Livermore, California.
(https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc865835/:
accessed June 22, 2025),
University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu;
crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
