on December 6. Project 58/58A was composed of four safety tests; they were not supposed to result in nuclear radiation. All four took place at the Nevada Test Site. The safety tests were intended to ensure that the bombs would not malfunction. However, the test named Coulomb-C which took place in 1957 on December 9 did malfunction. It resulted in an unanticipated blast. The blast released a nuclear radiation fallout cloud that traveled toward Los Angeles and resulted in low levels of nuclear radiation. The bomb failure added to public concern over nuclear testing's safety. Some tests were cut in an effort to meet Eisenhower's demands for a shorter testing period, but new tests quickly filled their place. AEC chairman Strauss remarked that the large number of shots was due to the "DOD's requirement for an increasing number of different nuclear weapons types". Eisenhower eventually approved the plan for Operation Hardtack I in late January, even though it still contained 25 shots. On March 31, 1958, the USSR announced a suspension of all tests and called on the US to do the same. On May 9 the leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, accepted Eisenhower's invitation for technical discussions on a nuclear testing moratorium and negotiations began on July 1 of the same year. Eisenhower announced to the US on August 22, 1958, that the ban would begin October 31. US scientists responded by seeking to add more tests to the Hardtack Series in case it turned out to be the last chance. Consequently, Operation Hardtack I consisted of 35 tests. There was public health concern with the number of shots in Operation Hardtack I. Studies released in March 1958 indicated that people as far as away could have severe retinal burns from two of the three high-altitude tests: Teak and Orange. It was then decided that they would be moved to Johnston Island, which was from the nearest inhabited island. The high-altitude nuclear tests delivered the first openly reported man-made high-altitude electromagnetic pulses (EMP). Teak, which was detonated at and was , produced an aurora-like effect that was visible from Hawaii, displaced from the detonation. Most radio communications immediately dropped across the Pacific Ocean. The blackout in Australia lasted for 9 hours and Hawaii's lasted for no less than 2 hours. High-altitude tests Operation Hardtack I contained three high-altitude tests called Operation Newsreel that were designed to study