You'll have to pardon us if we don't believe the government when it tells us that the Divine Strake test, originally scheduled for June 2 at the Nevada Test Site, is safe.

We've heard these assurances before, and experience has taught us to be skeptical of anything the government says concerning what happens at the test site.

The prospect of this test is disturbing on many levels. The Pentagon is predicting that the 700-ton conventional blast will release a 10,000 foot cloud of debris. While Divine Strake does not use nuclear materials, 928 nuclear devices were detonated at the test site. The government has yet to provide conclusive data that radioactive isotopes left from those tests will not be sucked up into the debris.

Government assurances of safety are eerily reminiscent of the hollow assurances we heard throughout the years of atomic testing.

Richard L. Miller, author of "Under the Clouds: the Decades of Nuclear Testing," has researched six nuclear detonations at the test site that could have contaminated the area where Divine Strake will be detonated. The site, by the way, is only a mile from what is called "Plutonium Valley."

Unless the military can conclusively prove that no radioactive materials remain on site (and remember that many of those radioisotopes remain active for decades) and that no other harmful material will be released as a result of the explosion, it has a moral obligation to err on the side of caution. Curiously, visitors to the test site are told not to pick up rocks or dirt as souvenirs because the guards will be able to detect the materials with Geiger counters. If there is indeed no radioactive material at the site, why take such measuresfi

Additionally, the Pentagon has said that the cloud of debris won't go beyond 10 miles from the test site. I urge them to look up the trajectory maps of where previous tests spread fallout. The 1970 underground detonation named Baneberry spewed a 10,000-foot cloud that was tracked all the way to Canada thanks to the jet stream.

Members of our congressional delegation are asking for assurances from the government before the test occurs. Given the military's past history of lies and cover-ups regarding testing, it is essential that our representatives demand outside, independent corroboration of any data the test site provides. They should be very skeptical regarding government assurances on anything related to test site activity.

As troubling as possible health implications is what Divine Strake signals. The Las Vegas Sun ran an article on Saturday, April 28 headlined, "Test Blast Linked to Nuke Weapons." The article says that contrary to the Pentagon's earlier denials, Doug Bruder, director of the counter-weapons of mass destruction program for the Defense Department's Defense Threat Reduction Agency, says the blast could help with the development of nuclear weapons. He said of Divine Stake, "A charge of this size would be more related to a nuclear weapon."

Last year, Congress cut funding for any testing intended to advance nuclear weapons. We should have grave concerns about how this test circumvented congressional intent. Money for Divine Strake was slipped into the Defense Department budget as a conventional weapons program. We must not be fooled. This test is in all likelihood a prelude to the development and testing of new nuclear weapons. Once it is conducted, nuclear testing will not be far behind.

Why is this test being conductedfi Certainly, as others have pointed out, the Pentagon already has data from more than 900 nuclear tests at the test site. What more could this test possibly tell the militaryfi So what is the real purposefi To scare Iranfi To keep the test site and related industries in operationfi And why are people who may be affected once again left out of the process, without a voice on what may fall downwindfi

It is ironic that the Orwellian-named agency administering the test is the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Once again, our government is exposing its citizenry to potential risk in the name of national security. The intent of the Utah population is clear -- we do not want to see resumed testing -- of any kind. A recent town meeting in St. George bears out this prevailing sentiment. When it was suggested that the tests were needed for national security, the crowd countered with, "What about our securityfi"

We must not repeat the mistakes of the past nor should we so blithely enter into a new nuclear era. The test has been delayed, but only cancellation can be considered a victory. We must make our voices heard and do all we can to stop this insane test.

Mary Dickson is a downwinder living in Salt Lake City. She is working on a book about the human toll of nuclear testing.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A5.