VIP Observers, Operation Greenhouse
Enewetak Atoll, 1951

SF-P 20-12
Unique
Signed
Sergio Frutos
, 2020
Oil on canvas
80 x 148 x 2 cm

SF-P 20-12
Unique
Signed


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About this artwork:

Operation Greenhouse, conducted on islands of the Enewetak Atoll, was the fifth American nuclear test series and the first to test principles that would lead to developing thermonuclear weapons,¹ showcasing new and aggressive designs, aiming to reduce the size, weight, and most importantly, reduce the amount of fissile material necessary for nuclear weapons, while increasing the destructive power.

During the DOG test, at Parry Island, located about 20 Km from where the test bomb exploded, a group of VIPs observed the shot from the Officer's Beach Club patio. the shock wave arrived about 45 seconds after the explosion.² The atomic mushroom could be seen as far as 160 Km away. Members of all military branches as well as civilians within the Department of Defense, the Atomic Energy Commission and contractors were likely in attendance. The explosion lifted 250,000 tons of soil to an altitude of approximately 10 Km.³

The Dog explosion is more popularly known for an image taken of those viewing it than the actual explosion itself; the photograph depicts numerous VIPs wearing safety goggles sitting on the iconic Adirondack chairs while being illuminated by the flash of the detonation. —ironically, the Adirondack chairs are famous for being developed for cures at tuberculosis sanatoriums, when resting outdoors was thought to be a healing treatment: ‘The Feel-Good Recliner That Cures What Ails You’—⁴

The safety goggles worn by all those viewing the test in the picture have become a museum collectors' item.⁵ They constitute a rather naive measure of protection: ‘Even with them, you would not want to stare directly at the explosion.’ They offered only limited protection and don't offer any defense at all on the rest of the body from exposure to radiation.

The fallout from Shot DOG was heavier than previously had been encountered in a residence situation at a nuclear test site; this was the first time that fallout appreciably increased cumulative doses of support personnel relative to the dose limit. Fallout from Shot DOG, caught in wind shifts in the hours after detonation, doubled back on the atoll and contaminated some of the islands and ships. Of the residence islands, Parry Island received the most with a
peak reading of 0.083 roentgen per hour (R/h). High radiation levels on the forward islands postponed all but the most essential survey and recovery missions until the next day, when the radiation had decayed to acceptable levels.⁶

In 1977, the United States military began decontamination of Enewetak and other islands. During the three-year, US$239 million cleanup process, the military buried more than 80,000 cubic meters in a 110 m wide atomic blast crater, and a concrete dome was constructed over the material.⁷

The government declared the southern and western islands in the atoll safe for habitation in 1980. A report projects that the majority of the atoll will be fit for human habitation by 2026–2027, after nuclear decay, de-contamination and environmental remediation efforts create sufficient dose reductions. However, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that rising sea levels caused by climate change are seeping inside the dome, causing radioactive material to leak out.⁸

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About the project: ATOM

Silly Asses

Isaac Asimov

Naron of the long-lived Rigellian race was the fourth of his line to keep the galactic records.

He had the large book which contained the list of the numerous races throughout the galaxies that had developed intelligence, and the much smaller book that listed those races that had reached maturity and had qualified for the Galactic Federation. In the first book, a number of those listed were crossed out; those that, for one reason or another, had failed. Misfortune, biochemical or biophysical shortcomings, social maladjustment took their toll. In the smaller book, however, no member listed had yet blanked out.

And now Naron, large and incredibly ancient, looked up as a messenger approached.

“Naron,” said the messenger. “Great One!”
“Well, well, what is it? Less ceremony.”
“Another group of organisms has attained maturity.”
“Excellent. Excellent. They are coming up quickly now. Scarcely a year passes without a new one. And who are these?”
The messenger gave the code number of the galaxy and the coordinates of the world within it.

“Ah, yes,” said Naron. “I know the world.” And in flowing script he noted it in the first book and transferred its name into the second, using, as was customary, the name by which the planet was known to the largest fraction of its populace. He wrote: Earth.
He said, “These new creatures have set a record. No other group has passed from intelligence to maturity so quickly. No mistake, I hope.”
“None, sir,” said the messenger. “They have attained to thermonuclear power, have they?”
“Yes. sir.”
“Well, that’s the criterion.” Naron chuckled. “And soon their ships will probe out and contact the Federation.”
“Actually, Great One,” said the messenger, reluctantly, “the Observers tell us they have not yet penetrated space.”

Naron was astonished. “Not at all? Not even a space station?”
“Not yet, sir.”
“But if they have thermonuclear power, where then do they conduct their tests and detonations?”
“On their own planet, sir.”

Naron rose to his full twenty feet of height and thundered, “On their own planet?”
“Yes, sir.”
Slowly Naron drew out his stylus and passed a line through the latest addition in the smaller book. It was an unprecedented act, but, then, Naron was very wise and could see the inevitable as well as anyone in the galaxy.

“Silly asses,” he muttered.

First published in: Future Science Fiction, February 1958, p. 114
Collections:
Have You Seen These?
Buy Jupiter and Other Stories

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The project Atom is based on archival photographs from nuclear tests and revolves around how the ‘atomic age’ is a turning point¹ and to which extent human stupidity can destroy the world we live in. Is possible the survival of humanity and living beings with whom we share the planet as we know it under the current system?.

The phrase “atomic age” has been around since 1945 in reference to the world’s reframing by the newfound human control over nuclear forces. Nuclear weapons prompted both apocalyptic visions of humanity’s annihilation through mutually assured destruction and promises of abundance, progress, and modernity through the utilization of atomic energy.

On the one side, the atrocities of mass destruction in Japanese cities, on Pacific Atolls, and other “testing sites” across the globe forever stamped the self-image of the human as an engineer of death. On the other side, harnessing nuclear power and the emerging nuclear sector were hailed as instruments of national security, a hotbed of technological innovation, a wellspring for electric household energy, and a radically modern means of investigating the natural world and improving human bodies and diets. But soon the smiling side of this Janus face faded, and threat of radioactivity became the scare phenomenon of the second half of the twentieth-century. Radioactive contamination has changed the natural and the social environment to an extent that brings a whole new register into focus: the possibility that life on this planet could end as we know it.²

Our current development, predating the planet, following the dictates of capitalism will certainly drive us to mass extinction.³

Production of steel requires iron, coal, and an immense amount of air which passes through the mix. Today, all the air on Earth contains traces of radioactive residues from the nuclear tests realized since 1945. The so produced metals contain contamination by radionuclides, interfering with the function of sensitive medical and technical equipment. Until recently,⁴ scientists involved in the production of those devices sought metals uncontaminated by background radiation, referred to as low-background steel, low-background lead, and so on.⁵

For many years, for certain sensitive scientific instruments, it wasn't possible to manufacture on Earth steel or other metals without radionuclides, it had to be taken from shipwrecks sunken before 1945, as the German naval fleet that Admiral Ludwig von Reuter scuttled in 1919 to keep the ships from the British,⁶ as lead has been frequently taken from roman archeological sites.⁷

Since the nuclear test race in 40s and 50s, the world has advanced in nuclear technology. Today, a nuclear bomb could target a large-scale attack, at a longer range, and with much greater destructive force. People are increasingly concerned about the potential destructive humanitarian outcomes. So long as nuclear weapons exist, it is inevitable that someday they will be used, whether by design, accident, or miscalculation. The danger of use of nuclear weapons is greater than ever before due to proliferation of nuclear weapons, terrorism, and political instabilities.⁸

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[...]
“And so?” you ask your guide, the nice one.
“So, we learned to make stars,” he answers.
“I thought you told me that this was already like a sun.”
“Oh, yes, but it's not a real sun. Real suns don't work like that. They're much more powerful. So we made real stars.”
“I can't believe it.”
“And what do you think that white powder you've got there and this thermos I've got here are for?”
“The stuff that stars are made of?”
“Yes. And nightmares.”

Antonio Cantó, “Así funciona un arma termonuclear.” La pizarra de Yuri: historias de ciencia al calor del fuego. Guadalajara ; Madrid: Silente, 2011. →