AllMovie

Peter Kuran, the award-winning creator of Trinity and Beyond, explores the secret history of U.S. nuclear test sites in his documentary Atomic Journeys: Welcome to Ground Zero. In a cinematic tour of previously unknown sites from Alaska to Mississippi, the film documents the detonation of over 900 atomic and hydrogen bombs to explore the use of nuclear weapons for peaceful purposes. A variety of tests performed by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission under Projects "Plowshare" and "Vela Uniform" studied the use of nuclear weapons in canal and harbor building as well as in detecting seismic signals. "Atomic Journeys" examines the history of the testing, the environmental changes caused by the detonations, and the condition of the former test sites. A highlight of the film is a trip to the Nevada test site, the most bombed place on earth.