Two things about nuke testing:
First, if you’ll remember, we were in the Cold War in a rapid nuclear weapons buildup race. The government was (understandably so) very reluctant to reveal info that could be used by the Soviets, and so they kept as much info classified as they could.
Second, in the early days, they did not have a complete grasp of the effects of nuclear detonations. They did not have a complete grasp of the effects of radiation and contamination from nuclear fallout. That was the reason for the testing. That’s the reason testing went underground when they started to understand what the effects of open air testing were.
US Nuclear industry corrupt and incompetent...my my. Six decades of reactor plant operations...over a hundred reactor plants...one accident which did not result in exposure of the general public to fission products and which had fewer fatalities than the back seat of Ted Kennedy’s car....corrupt and incompetent. Yup.
My my...what a pathetic paint job
but..that’s all the nuke industry has is more white wash...