Initially, the test seemed routine. At 9 a.m., Department of Energy (DOE) engineers detonated a nuclear bomb 1,168 ft. beneath the arid landscape of the Rainier Mesa at the Nevada test site 93 miles northwest of Las Vegas. About three hours later, after instruments detected no radiation at the site, workers in white coveralls returned to trailers near the blast area to begin collecting data. They had just started to snip the 150 cables connected to underground sensors when the earth gave way. "I felt the earth shake, and before I knew it I was standing on my head," said J....
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