Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test Facility
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The Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test Facility (DARHT) is a facility being built at Los Alamos National Laboratory as part of the Department of Energy's stockpile stewardship program. It uses two large x-ray machines to record three-dimensional interior images of materials simulating nuclear explosion testing (including subcritical testing).
The DARHT program initially began in 1988, but became especially pushed for after the United States stopped testing nuclear weapons in 1992. Construction was halted between 1995 and 1996 due to lawsuits by Los Alamos Study Group and Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, two anti-nuclear weapons organizations demanding that the laboratory produce an Environmental Impact Statement for its construction and operation. It has also been argued by activists that DARHT is a violation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and potentially the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, though the lab and the DOE reject this view.
The first x-ray machine was tested in 1999. The second machine (the second axis) is more complicated and, when first completed in 2003, was found to be unusable and required an extensive rebuild that was completed and tested in 2008. The facility was initially expected to cost $30 million in 1988, ultimately rose to $350 million.[1][2]
[edit] References
- Fleck, John. "Failure of Axis Plagues Labs", Albuquerque Journal (26 December 2005): A1.
- ^ Los Alamos' DARHT aces first test November 9, 1999
- ^ DOE Says DARHT Fully Operational; Questions Remain May 26, 2008
Coordinates: 35°50′02″N 106°18′09″W / 35.83389°N 106.3025°W
