The U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project was completed in August 1998 and resulted in the book Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940 edited by Stephen I. Schwartz. These project pages should be considered historical.


A B-52 bomber sits atop the TRESTLE electromagnetic pulse (EMP) simulator at Kirtland Air Force Base, New MexicoA B-52 bomber sits atop the TRESTLE electromagnetic pulse (EMP) simulator at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico

The facility is the largest wood-and-glue laminated structure in the world. Aircraft tested here are subjected to up to 10 million volts of electricity to simulate the effects of a nuclear explosion and assess the “hardness” of electrical and electronic equipment to the EMP pulse generated by a nuclear burst.

Credit: U.S. Air Force (courtesy Natural Resource Defense Council)