A National Nuclear Security Administration helicopter will sweep the Las Vegas strip through Dec. 31 to measure background radiation levels ahead of planned New Year’s Eve celebrations, the agency announced this week.
Flights were scheduled to begin Dec. 29 and continue through Dec. 31. The agency’s Nuclear Emergency Support Team regularly takes background radiation measurements in the days leading up to big public gatherings in order to create a baseline radiation measurement against which weaponized radioactive materials will stand out.
The daylight flights each day will take about two hours to complete, with a single helicopter flying a grid pattern no lower than 150 feet at about 80 miles per hour, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s press release.
