DEVELOPMENT OF NUCLEAR UNDERGROUND ENGINEERED TEST SURROGATES (NUGETS) FOR FORENSICS EXPLOITATION

Threats of nuclear material proliferation and associated acts of nuclear terrorism abide in modern society. As such, it is vital that organizations within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Energy (DOE), and Department of Defense (DOD) are adequately prepared to deal with the aftermath of such an event so that the United States may respond in an appropriate and expeditious manner. To that end, the University of Tennessee Institute for Nuclear Security (UT- INS) has developed methods to produce surrogate nuclear debris which replicate trinitite and other selected urban environments exposed to a surface detonation of an improvised nuclear device (IND). Current work explores application of these techniques to the development of Nuclear UnderGround Engineered Test Surrogates (NUGETS) which replicate debris formed by an underground nuclear detonation. Specifically, this work focuses on creating NUGETS representative of debris which might be found following a nuclear detonation in geological strata similar to that of the Nevada Nuclear Security Site (NNSS). Through this surrogate development and comparative analyses, a baseline procedure is established by which UT-INS can create debris expected from detonation of an IND in any myriad of subterranean structures and surrounding geologic strata in strategic cities of interest throughout the United States. This surrogate debris may also be formulated to include fissionable material and subsequently irradiated in order to create debris that is wholly realistic—chemically, radiologically, and morphologically—for analysis by entities in the nuclear forensics community such as national laboratories, first-line responders, DOD, and DHS. General premises, calculations, chemical recipe development, debris production methodology, initial characterization, challenges, and future work are discussed.