The site was surveyed by Len Beadell in 1952. A village and airstrip were constructed for the subsequent testing program.
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It was later found that the radioactive cloud from the first detonation did not disperse as expected, and traveled north-east over the Australian continent.
The site at Emu Field was considered too remote for future use, and the search for a more convenient location led to the survey of Maralinga, where a further series of atomic tests was conducted in 1956.
There are now stone monuments at the ground-zero points, which can be visited by tourists (with the written approval of the RAAF Woomera Test Range who now control access to the area), though the location is still extremely remote (see Anne Beadell Highway). Evidence of the explosions may still be seen at ground-zero in the form of vitrified sand and concentric blast rings.