Atmospheric Atomic Testing in Nevada, Shot Harry, and the Agency of Nature

Abstract

Harry, a 32-kiloton tower shot in May of 1953, was the dirtiest atmospheric detonation ever conducted at the Nevada Test Site in terms of population exposure to radioactive contamination. Fallout descended upon St. George, Utah, and residents were instructed to shelter in place for approximately two hours. The timeline regarding Harry’s arrival in St. George and when the shelter in place directive was issued, however, remains the subject of controversy, as do the potential health effects. Harry not only illustrated the inadequacies of the Atomic Energy Commission’s (AEC) management of offsite fallout, but also called into question modernist assumptions of the command and control of nature. Based on archival analysis of AEC memorandum and reports as well as documents associated with civil litigation against the federal government, I more fully articulate the events surrounding shot Harry and highlight the implications for historical analysis more broadly.