Eli5: what happens to the areas where nuclear bombs are tested?

Question

Eli5: what happens to the areas where nuclear bombs are tested?

In: 3652

Answer 1

For the most part, they remain vacant.

I have a friend that studied in nuclear chemistry back when we were in school. He got a university job where he was basically a researcher. He’d go out in the Washington desert (old Hanford Site). On a given day, he might drive out and look for rabbit poop. He’d test it for radioactivity and log and compare results to show where levels were.