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Nuclear Weapon Nearly Detonated in the United States

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by Invisible Fan, Dec 16, 2006.

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  1. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Member

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    Watchdog: Firm nearly detonated nuke bomb
    By Jeff Nesmith
    Cox News Service
    Tucson, Arizona | Published: 12.15.2006

    WASHINGTON — An accident that occurred as a decades-old nuclear warhead was being dismantled at the government's Pantex facility near Amarillo, Texas, could have caused the device to detonate, a nonprofit organization charged Thursday.

    The Project on Government Oversight said the "near miss" event, which led the Energy Department to fine the plant's operator $110,000, was due partly to requirements that technicians at the plant work up to 72 hours per week.

    The Pantex plant, 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, is the country's only factory for assembly and disassembly of nuclear weapons.

    The organization said it was told by unidentified experts who were "knowledgeable about this event" that the accident, in which an unsafe amount of pressure was applied to the warhead, could have caused the device to detonate.

    The oversight project also released an anonymous letter, purportedly sent by Pantex employees, warning that long hours and efforts to increase output were causing dangerous conditions in the plant.

    In a two-paragraph statement, BWX Technologies, the company that operates the Amarillo facility under a contract with the Energy Department, said it "takes seriously any employee concerns about safe operations" and was comparing statements in the anonymous letter "with the reality of day-to-day work."

    BWX spokeswoman Erin Ritter declined to comment beyond the statement. Julianne Smith, a spokeswoman for the Energy Department, which owns the Pantex plant, declined to respond to safety complaints outlined in a letter from oversight project Executive Director Danielle Brian to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman.

    However, records show that the department last month fined BWX $110,000 for the accident and another event involving the same warhead.

    In a letter to Dan J. Swaim, BWX general manger of the plant, the Energy Department said the company had "significantly delayed" disclosing the incidents and then submitted a "factually inaccurate and incomplete" report.

    The letter, signed by Linton Brooks, head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, did not say the incidents could have caused a nuclear detonation or what kind of warhead was being dismantled when they occurred.

    It said that during three separate unsuccessful attempts to dismantle the warhead in March and April of last year, workers applied too much pressure to the device and a safety mechanism failed to work.

    Oversight project investigator Peter Stockton, a former Energy Department official, said the device was a W56 warhead, with a yield of 1,200 kilotons, 100 times the destructive power of the Hiroshima bomb.
     
    #1 Invisible Fan, Dec 16, 2006
  2. univac hal

    univac hal Member

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    [​IMG]

    Would you mind not shooting at the thermonuclear weapons?
     
    #2 univac hal, Dec 16, 2006
  3. VesceySux

    VesceySux World Champion Lurker
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    [​IMG]

    Jack took care of it.
     
    #3 VesceySux, Dec 16, 2006
  4. MadMax

    MadMax Member

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    we're safe ya'll

    [​IMG]
     
    #4 MadMax, Dec 16, 2006
  5. Hydhypedplaya

    Hydhypedplaya Member

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    LMAO...thts exactly who I thought about when I read the title.
     
    #5 Hydhypedplaya, Dec 16, 2006
  6. finalsbound

    finalsbound Member

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    THIS made me lmao. :D
     
    #6 finalsbound, Dec 16, 2006
  7. tigermission1

    tigermission1 Member

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    I hope it wasn't during one of my visits to Lubbock...
     
    #7 tigermission1, Dec 16, 2006
  8. DaDakota

    DaDakota Balance wins
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    How big would the fallout area be? Wouldn't that screw up Dallas and Austin too?

    DD
     
    #8 DaDakota, Dec 16, 2006
  9. Lil Pun

    Lil Pun Member

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    Isn't Dallas already screwed up? Maybe it would fix D.
     
    #9 Lil Pun, Dec 16, 2006
  10. IROC it

    IROC it Member

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    Hey! Some of us live close to Dallas... that would kill some good Rockets' fans! :mad:

    We didn't really choose to live near such a place... it was a job related move.
     
    #10 IROC it, Dec 17, 2006
  11. WhoMikeJames

    WhoMikeJames Member

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    Exactly, Leave it to CTU...
     
    #11 WhoMikeJames, Dec 17, 2006
  12. Outlier

    Outlier Member

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    Wait a minute... that's INSANE. How did MadMax get 30k posts?
     
    #12 Outlier, Dec 17, 2006
  13. Dubious

    Dubious Member

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    By posting a waffling middle of the road response to every thread in the D&D.

    (All while filling out his time sheet for 60 chargeable hours a week)
     
    #13 Dubious, Dec 17, 2006
  14. 111chase111

    111chase111 Member

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    I'm sure there is cause for concern and I'm sure the company involved did stuff that was dangerous but, from what I understand, it's VERY difficult to accidentally detonate an atomic bomb. In fact, don't atomic bombs use some other explosion to generate the necessary pressure to cause the chain reaction? I can't imaging a machine designed to take the thing apart could even come close to providing enough pressure.

    I could imagine a scenario where enough pressure is placed on the bomb to break it open exposing the radioactive material. That would suck. At least for those in the room.
     
    #14 111chase111, Dec 17, 2006
  15. moestavern19

    moestavern19 Member

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    If you've ever sat down and talked with the guy you'd understand.

    :p
     
    #15 moestavern19, Dec 17, 2006
  16. Ottomaton

    Ottomaton Member
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    I'm not an expert but I believe it would depend on the yield of the warhead and the prevailing weather conditions.

    According to Google maps, Amarillo is 527 miles from Austin and 342 miles from Ft. Worth. I don't know for sure, but I don't think it would be a given that everybody in Dallas and Austin would get sick.

    It is my understanding that in the nuclear weapons assembly the conventional explosives are very integrally attached to the weapon. The exact shape and position of the explosives is critical to maximizing the bomb, and so they are very tightly fixed into place.

    I believe that when these people get the bombs, the conventional explosives would still be attached. When I read the story I assumed that they bumped some part of the detonator for the conventional explosives, which would be the most unstable part of the bomb and I think could detonate some types of bombs from physical pressure or a metal on metal spark.
     
    #16 Ottomaton, Dec 17, 2006
  17. Cohen

    Cohen Member

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    Yesterday... because he has over 31,000 now. ;)


    And the insane part is that those are 30,000 quality posts.
     
    #17 Cohen, Dec 17, 2006
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