Project Chariot Site, Alaska

Project Chariot was the code-name for a proposed excavation project, in which nuclear bombs would be used to build a harbor on the west coast of Alaska. It was part of the Plowshare Program, whose mandate was to develop non-military uses for nuclear technology. Although various preliminary studies were conducted, including the importation of irradiated soil from the Nevada Test Site to measure its effects on the local environment (the soil sat at the Chariot site for over 30 years, until it was crated and shipped back to Nevada, to be disposed of at the Test Site) ultimately the project was cancelled in 1963, due in part to vigorous protests on the part of University of Alaska scientists, local conservationists, and in particular, members of the indigenous Inupiat community. Some observers credit the Project Chariot protests with catalyzing the development of the environmental movement in Alaska, as well as buttressing the political power of Alaska Natives.