Nuclear Tests May Resume in Nevada, Recalling Mushroom Clouds and Ground-Shaking Blasts

President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he has directed the Department of War to resume nuclear weapons testing. The tests are expected to take place at the Nevada National Security Site, located 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The move brings renewed attention to the Nevada site's long history in nuclear development.

he Nevada Test Site, established in 1951 on remote Shoshone Nevada land, hosted over 1,000 U.S. nuclear tests across four decades. The site was selected for its isolation, federal ownership, geological stability, and low population. Only 4,100 people lived within 125 miles. Sites in Utah and New Mexico were rejected due to higher population, variable winds, and humidity. Testing began with atmospheric detonations, including the 1951 Operation Ranger series, which produced mushroom clouds visible from Las Vegas and sparked early public concerns about safety and radiation exposure. The 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty banned aboveground nuclear tests, moving operations underground into shafts and tunnels. These detonations released radioactive isotopes, contaminating soil, air, and groundwater. Downwind communities in Mesquite and rural Nevada counties later experienced elevated rates of leukemia and thyroid cancer, particularly among children. The final test was conducted in 1992.

After the Soviet Union's collapse, the U.S. halted nuclear testing. Pres. Clinton signed the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty in 1996 to show U.S. support for banning all nuclear explosions, but the Senate rejected ratification. Since then, the U.S. has relied on computer simulations and data from previous tests.

Pres. Trump's comments preceded a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and referenced ongoing nuclear advancements by other nations. Russia recently tested a nuclear-powered cruise missile and a nuclear-armed underwater drone. China continues to expand its ground-based missile silos, while North Korea unveiled a new intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. Such actions have heightened concerns.

Resuming nuclear tests in Nevada would require years of preparation and investment. The site, which once employed up to 20,000 workers during peak operations in the 1960s, has seen most of its testing infrastructure dismantled or fall into disrepair over decades of inactivity. Rebuilding diagnostic equipment, drilling deep vertical shafts, ensuring safety systems, and reassembling specialized teams would take several years.