Feds proceed with underground explosion

Department of Defense workers were at the Old Teton Dam site Thursday morning to conduct a seismic experiment.

They placed a single explosive more than 80 feet underground through a borehole and monitored shock waves from the explosion using a number of sensors.

“We’re doing this seismic test to get some data on how seismic shockwaves travel through this particular type of rock,” said Dan Gaffney, spokesman for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

Gaffney said the data collected Thursday could help the department better monitor seismic events, including those created when weapons are tested.

“It will help us better monitor any type of events that happen across the planet that would be in violation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty,” said Gaffney.

The data will be sent to scientists in Virginia for analysis.

During the course of the explosion, workers remained 1,000 feet away as a safety precaution.

A dirt road was temporarily blocked off.