MORE THAN A THOUSAND NUCLEAR WEAPONS ACCIDENTS!!!
SURPRISE!
CLOSE CALLS, TOO CLOSE! AND THEY CONTINUE!
A newly disclosed document reveals a U.S. hydrogen bomb almost detonated near Goldsboro, N.C., back in 1961.
IT WASN'T THE ONLY "LOOSE NUKE"!
BELOW YOU WILL FIND A VERY LONG LIST OF KNOWN NUCLEAR WEAPONS ACCIDENTS MANY FROM 2000-TODAY.
AS WE SEE AIRCRAFT AND SUBMARINES AGE, CAN WE ALSO SEE THESE OCCURRING MORE FREQUENTLY?
AS WE HAVE SEEN FAILURE AFTER FAILURE TO KEEP ACCIDENTS FROM HAPPENING, CAN WE FIND BETTER WAYS TO CONTAIN THE DANGERS?
IF WE HAVE JUST ONE BIG ACCIDENT MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WILL BE AFFECTED.
WE HAVE A LOT OF NUCLEAR WASTE MOVING ABOUT THIS NATION, AND MORE THAN A FEW "MISSING NUKES".
WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES AND OUR GOVERNMENT, "WHAT IF...?"
WHAT SORT OF PLAN DO WE HAVE IN PLACE SHOULD THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO HAPPEN?
OUR "BOMB SHELTERS" HAVE ALL BEEN CLOSED OR CONVERTED TO OTHER THINGS, NO VIABLE SUPPLIES IN THE FEW THAT ARE KEPT OPEN FOR "HISTORICAL PURPOSES".
OUR GOVERNMENT HAS CEASED PREPARING US FOR NUCLEAR DISASTER...WE ARE ON OUR OWN!
THE FINAL VIDEO, AT THE END OF THIS POST, SHOWS HOW AGED AND DANGEROUS OUR OUT-OF-DATE NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ARE HERE IN AMERICA.
THE AGENCIES THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO KEEP US SAFE FROM THESE TICKING TIME BOMBS ARE FAILING MISERABLY.
NOW WHAT?THE AGENCIES THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO KEEP US SAFE FROM THESE TICKING TIME BOMBS ARE FAILING MISERABLY.
BEFORE WE GET TO STATS AND LISTS...YOU CAN SKIP THIS IF YOU AREN'T INTERESTED IN SUCH THINGS AND GO STRAIGHT TO THE STATS, WHICH I HAVE MARKED WITH TRIPLE RED ASTERISKS (***)
September, 2013
http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2013/09/03/graham-nukes-in-hands-of-terrorists-could-result-in-bomb-coming-to-charleston-harbor/
GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (CBS Charlotte/AP)
<<South Carolina U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham says if there is no U.S. response, Iran will not believe America’s resolve to block Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Graham also says those nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists could result in a bomb coming to Charleston Harbor.>>
WHY DO I MENTION THIS ABOUT SEN. GRAHAM?
WELL, BECAUSE THE RUMOR MILLS ARE ALL ASTIR OVER THE TRANSFER OF NUCLEAR WARHEADS FROM TEXAS TO SOUTH CAROLINA JUST THIS MONTH.
IT BOTHERS ME THAT GRAHAM MENTIONS, OF ALL PLACES AND PORTS IN THE USA, CHARLESTON HARBOR, S.C.
CHARLESTON HARBOR, S.C???
WELL, HERE'S WHAT ONE OF THOSE RUMOR MILLS POSTED TO YOUTUBE:
(I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE THAT YOU WILL BE SUBJECTED TO ALEX JONES.)
LET ME QUICKLY INFORM YOU THAT, SUPPOSEDLY, DYESS AFB HAS NOT HAD ANY NUKES SINCE 1997.
http://www.nrdc.org/nuclear/tkstock/p53-94.pdf
<<Dyess AFB, near Abilene, TEXAS, once hosted nuclear-capable B-1B bombers assigned to the 7th Wing of the Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). As of the end of 1997 the B-1 have completed their conversion to conventional-only roles and the nuclear weapons
have been removed from the base. The ACC conducted Nuclear Staff Assistance Visits (NSAVs) at Dyess in February 1994, August 1994, and September 1995. The 7th Wing received a USAF Nuclear Surety Plaque in 1995 for “outstanding achievements” and “contributions” to nuclear security. The 7th Security Police Squadron received excellent and outstanding ratings during inspections. From 20 February-3 March 1996, the 7th Wing also underwent a Nuclear Operational Readiness Inspection (NORI) and ACC conducted another NSAV in October 1996, presumably the last.>>
NOW IF "INFOWARS" HAD SAID THEY WERE SHIPPED FROM THE PANTEX PLANT NEAR AMARILLO, TX, THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR.
Nuclear weapons ARE stored ONLY at the Pantex Plant of the Department of Energy outside of
On November 13, 1961 an explosion involving 123,000 pounds of chemical high explosive components of nuclear weapons occurred at Medina. On the southern boundary of the Medina facility workmen were placing sub-assemblies from dismantled atomic bombs in a storage igloo.
The sub-assemblies, which were being stored for further processing and disposal, contained chemical high explosives, aluminum, natural and depleted uranium. No longer covered by the metal bomb shell, the sub-assemblies were being stored in metal and plastic explosive cases which had openings on their surfaces leaving the explosive exposed. They were handled by a three-man crew—two fork lift operators who moved them from a straddle carrier into the igloo and one man on the carrier.
Most of the load was in the igloo when at about 10:24 the explosive in one of the sub-assemblies ignited. Seeing the flash, the drivers sprinted for cover, alerting the men outside. For about 45 seconds the explosive burned. Then it detonated with a force of over 60 tons of TNT.
The first explosion set off other sub-assemblies in the igloo and those still on the carrier. The igloo disappeared in a cloud of smoke and dust, leaving a crater some twenty feet deep.
In the 45 seconds between ignition and detonation the three workers got away. Their injuries
were minor. Adjacent igloos were not disturbed. The shock was felt for miles. Windows were
shattered in downtown San Antonio, twelve miles away.
This is one of the 32 acknowledged “Broken Arrows” or serious nuclear weapon accident confirmed by the Pentagon.
The dis-assembly/modification work continued at Medina until 1965, when all functions
were transferred to Pantex.>>
[SAME SOURCE, http://www.nrdc.org/nuclear/tkstock/p53-94.pdf ]
A FEW OTHER THINGS TROUBLE ME ABOUT THE "SEPTEMBER ALERT: NUCLEAR WEAPONS" THINGS...
1~Air Force Begins Massive B-52 Overhaul
July 12th, 2013
http://www.dodbuzz.com/2013/07/12/air-force-begins-massive-b-52-overhaul/<<The service wants to be sure to maximize the usefulness of its inventory of B-52s for their remaining years.“Their structure, service life and air frames are good until around 2040. They are built very strong structurally. This is not a structural modification, but upgrades to the capabilities and the avionics,” Eric Single, Chief of the Global Strike Division, Acquisition explained.
The current ongoing electronics and communications upgrade, called Combat Network Communications Technology, or CONECT, will bring a whole new capability to the fleet of B-52s.
Single explained that being able to update key combat-relevant information while in transit will substantially help the aircraft more effectively travel longer distances for missions, as needed.
“The key to this is that this is part of the long-range strike family of systems — so if you take off out of Barksdale Air Force Base and you go to your target area, it could take 15 or 16 hours to get there. By the time you get there, all the threat information has changed,” said Single. “Things move, pop up or go away and the targeting data may be different.”
Weapons Upgrade
The Air Force is also making progress with a technology-inspired effort to increase the weapons payload for the workhorse bomber, Single added.
The 1760 Internal Weapons Bay Upgrade, or IWBU, will allow the B-52 to internally carry up to eight of the newest “J-Series” bombs in addition to carrying six on pilons under each wing, he explained. The B-52 have previously been able to carry some bombs internally, but with the IWBU the aircraft will be able to internally house some of the most cutting edge precision-guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions and Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles, among others.
“It is about a 66 percent increase in carriage capability for the B-52, which is huge. You can imagine the increased number of targets you can reach, and you can strike the same number of targets with significantly less sorties,” said Single.>>
NOW, WHAT SINGLE DID NOT SAY IS WHAT REALLY TROUBLES ME...WHY ARE WE SEEING THE NEED FOR THIS EXTENSIVE UPGRADE NOW, SINCE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO PULL OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST NEXT YEAR, AND IF CONGRESS VOTED TO CUT THE PENTAGON'S BUDGET, WILL THE $313 MILLION FOR THIS MEAN OUR TROOPS ARE GOING TO TAKE THE CUTS???
2~ THREE RECENT "TRAINING EXERCISES":
(1) August 26th, 2013
FLORENCE, SC (WMBF) – The South Carolina Air National Guard will be conducting a training exercise in the skies over Florence Tuesday.
The routine training exercise will involve fighter jets escorting a single-engine aircraft between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on August 27., according to a news release from the South Carolina Air National Guard.
The exercise are carefully planned and closely controlled, officials stated, to ensure the rapid response capability with the SCANG's Aerospace Control Alert mission.
(2) Aug 26, 2013, ANDERSON, S.C. – The 1st Battalion, 362nd Air Defense Artillery, Task Force Renegade, 5th Armored Brigade, initiated the road to war with an initial assessment to validate a South Carolina National Guard Air Defense Artillery unit for their National Capital Region mission.
The South Carolina Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 263rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment will ultimately work alongside other State and Department of Defense agencies to protect, deter and prevent airborne threats from entering the National Capital Region.
The initial assessment is the first in a series of pre-mobilization readiness exercises and evaluations that will occur over the next 12 months. These exercises will prepare the Soldiers for their crucial role in defense of the National Capital Region in support of “Operation Noble Eagle”.
Trainers from Task Force Renegade have been tasked to ensure the South Carolina unit is mission-ready, and began their training partnership with the Guardsmen during August 2013.
(3) MILITARY/POLICE DRILL IN SOUTH CAROLINA PREPARES FOR INTERCEPT OF INCOMING AIRCRAFT...September 12, 2013, Plane forced down at Owens Field in Air Nat’l Guard training exercise.
The South Carolina Air National Guard along with members of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, was participating in a exercise to practice what to do if National Guard pilots have to stop intercept a plane involved in criminal activity.
3~ RADIATION LEVELS IN SOUTH CAROLINA HAVE DEFINITELY SHOWN SPIKES IN THE PAST 2-3 WEEKS, (805 is quite high). SO HAS CHARLOTTE, NC (233). SO HAS THE AREA UP AROUND THE PANTEX PLANT (in west TX) , VERY MUCH SO, WHICH CURRENTLY HAS A "RADCON_4 CONCERN WATCH" (UP 64 points to 216).
The S.C. border is only about 40 miles from here. Looking at N.C., I can't help but see S.C.
I do not use federal government monitoring sites as they have been proven to show much lower "acceptable" levels than independent reporting sites.
I'd also sooner trust a fairly intelligent friend who has a brand new, top of the line counter and who made the drive down and around to see for himself.
Levels ARE up...since about the end of August.
Since Fukushima, I have closely watched to see when we begin to see serious spikes in radioactivity... Call me 'paranoid' but I sort of like myself enough to do all I can to stay safe and well. I'd rather "be prepared" and be wrong than NOT be prepared and be sorry.
***BACK TO THE TASK AT HAND, THE DANGERS OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS ACCIDENTS IN AMERICA.***
THE DAY NORTH CAROLINA WAS ALMOST NUKED
(CBS News) A newly disclosed document reveals a U.S. hydrogen bomb almost detonated near Goldsboro, N.C., back in 1961.
September 21, 2013
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57604041/author-eric-schlosser-hydrogen-bomb-almost-detonated-in-north-carolina-in-1961/
September 21, 2013
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57604041/author-eric-schlosser-hydrogen-bomb-almost-detonated-in-north-carolina-in-1961/
<<According to a new book by the author Eric Schlosser - "Command and Control" - that near-miss is NOT an isolated event.
In fact, far from it.
In fact, far from it.
"The
Pentagon has issued an official list of broken arrows - of serious
weapon accidents that could threaten the public - and there are 32
accidents on that list," said Schlosser. "I found that 32 is actually a
small fraction of the number of accidents that occurred. One document
that I obtained from the Sandia National Laboratory,
which is one of our big weapons laboratories, listed 1,200 nuclear
weapons involved in accidents or incidents that threatened the safety
between 1950 and 1968.">>
THE PROBLEM WITH THAT REPORT OF 32 ACCIDENTS IS THAT IT ENDS IN 1980 AND NO ACCIDENTS SINCE THEN HAVE BEEN COUNTED!
THE PROBLEM WITH THAT REPORT OF 32 ACCIDENTS IS THAT IT ENDS IN 1980 AND NO ACCIDENTS SINCE THEN HAVE BEEN COUNTED!
WITH OUR GOVERNMENT'S HISTORY OF COVER-UPS OVER THE PAST 50 YEARS, WE WILL NEVER KNOW HOW MANY SUCH "ACCIDENTS" ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
Drawing on recently declassified documents and interviews with men who designed and routinely handled nuclear weapons, Schlosser shows us a world that, until now, has been hidden from public awareness.
Detailing a single accident, he shows how an "unlikely event" can become unavoidable, how "small risks" can have terrible consequences, and how the most brilliant minds in the nation can only provide us with an ILLUSION of control.
<<The closest the nation has come in the last 60 years to a major disaster was in January 1961, Schlosser said.
"There
was a B-52 bomber that started leaking fuel," he said. "While it was
preparing emergency landing, there was a weight imbalance, and the plane
started to break apart mid-air. There were two hydrogen bombs on the
plane, and as the plane was breaking apart mid-air there were so many
wires that if one of those wires had crossed with the arming wire of the
bomb, there would have been a full-scale detonation of this hydrogen
bomb in North Carolina. There would have been huge firestorms, and the
lethal radioactive fallout could have extended as far north as
Washington, D.C."
HOW LIKELY IS SUCH AN "ACCIDENT" TODAY?
Given our history of -screw-ups, of "uh-oh moments", the ones we know of and the fact that we have over 12,000 current 'nukes' floating about, the ones we definitely know of?
http://www.lutins.org/nukes.html
http://blogs-cdn.fas.org/security/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/NotebookMap.pdf
Let's ask the 'experts'!
A study sponsored by the US Congress gave a "safety grade" to each type of nuclear weapon in the nation's arsenal. The grades were based on the potential risk of accidental detonation or plutonium scattering. Three weapons received an A. Seven received a B. Two received a C-plus. Four a C. Two a C-minus. And 12 received a D, the lowest grade
The safety of the Trident D5 missile has long been a source of concern.
In December 1990, the Panel on Nuclear Weapons Safety, a group of eminent physicists appointed by the US Congress, warned that its unusual design posed significant risks. To save space, the multiple warheads weren't mounted on top of the missile; they surrounded its third-stage rocket engine. And the "high-energy" class 1.1 propellant used in that rocket engine was far more likely than other propellants to explode in an accident. "The safety issue of concern here," the panel found, "is whether an accident during handling of an operational missile – viz, transporting and loading – might detonate the propellant which in turn could cause the HE [high explosives] in the warhead to detonate, leading to dispersal of plutonium, or even the initiation of a nuclear yield."
Two of the more dangerous accidents occurred in one month. On 15 September 1980, one of the engines on a B-52 bomber caught fire at Grand Forks air force base in North Dakota. The plane was carrying four hydrogen bombs and eight short-range missiles with nuclear warheads. A strong wind kept the flames away from the weapons, and a fireman climbed into the burning plane, put out the fire, and averted a disaster. Three days later a technician dropped a tool in the silo of a Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile near Damascus, Arkansas. The tool hit the bottom of the silo, bounced, struck the side of the missile, pierced the skin and caused a fuel leak. The Titan II was carrying the most powerful nuclear warhead ever built by the US. Despite a heroic effort to save the missile, it exploded – but the warhead didn't detonate. Both states could have been completely destroyed.
According to the DOD’s preface, most of these accidents occurred during “logistic/ferry missions or Airborne Alert flights by Strategic Air Command aircraft.”
SO, EVERY TIME WE TRANSPORT ONE OF THESE, THE CHANCE OF AN ACCIDENT INCREASES BY....HOW MUCH???
An accidental nuclear explosion, especially considering how it would take out the communication structure for miles around, could be misconstrued as an attack by the enemy. This means that the safety of the planet depends on the fail-safes in each and every nuclear weapon.
March 6, 2000: A foot long cavity was discovered in the reactor vessel head at Ohio’s Davis-Besse nuclear plant. Borated water had decomposed the metal to a 3/16 inch stainless steel liner which held back over 80,000 gallons of highly pressurized radioactive water.
[NOTE: ALL OF OUR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ARE AGED! RADIATION WEARS OUT METAL, CONCRETE, EVERYTHING, AND THEIR "30-YEAR LIFE EXPECTANCY" IS GREATLY EXAGGERATED AS EXPERTS HAVE WARNED SINCE THE FIRST ONE WAS BUILT!]
Aug. 15, 2007 -- US -- John William Gofman, 88, nuclear chemist and medical researcher (1918 - 2007) In the late 1960s, Gofman and a colleague at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory sounded an alarm about the health effects of radiation from nuclear weapons and nuclear power. They called for federal safety guidelines for low-level exposure to be reduced by 90%. Their findings were disputed by the Atomic Energy Commission, and he was pushed out of government service. Gofman became an activist, helping found the Committee for Nuclear Responsibility, in 1971.
HOW LIKELY IS SUCH AN "ACCIDENT" TODAY?
Given our history of -screw-ups, of "uh-oh moments", the ones we know of and the fact that we have over 12,000 current 'nukes' floating about, the ones we definitely know of?
http://www.lutins.org/nukes.html
http://blogs-cdn.fas.org/security/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/NotebookMap.pdf
Let's ask the 'experts'!
A study sponsored by the US Congress gave a "safety grade" to each type of nuclear weapon in the nation's arsenal. The grades were based on the potential risk of accidental detonation or plutonium scattering. Three weapons received an A. Seven received a B. Two received a C-plus. Four a C. Two a C-minus. And 12 received a D, the lowest grade
The safety of the Trident D5 missile has long been a source of concern.
In December 1990, the Panel on Nuclear Weapons Safety, a group of eminent physicists appointed by the US Congress, warned that its unusual design posed significant risks. To save space, the multiple warheads weren't mounted on top of the missile; they surrounded its third-stage rocket engine. And the "high-energy" class 1.1 propellant used in that rocket engine was far more likely than other propellants to explode in an accident. "The safety issue of concern here," the panel found, "is whether an accident during handling of an operational missile – viz, transporting and loading – might detonate the propellant which in turn could cause the HE [high explosives] in the warhead to detonate, leading to dispersal of plutonium, or even the initiation of a nuclear yield."
Two of the more dangerous accidents occurred in one month. On 15 September 1980, one of the engines on a B-52 bomber caught fire at Grand Forks air force base in North Dakota. The plane was carrying four hydrogen bombs and eight short-range missiles with nuclear warheads. A strong wind kept the flames away from the weapons, and a fireman climbed into the burning plane, put out the fire, and averted a disaster. Three days later a technician dropped a tool in the silo of a Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile near Damascus, Arkansas. The tool hit the bottom of the silo, bounced, struck the side of the missile, pierced the skin and caused a fuel leak. The Titan II was carrying the most powerful nuclear warhead ever built by the US. Despite a heroic effort to save the missile, it exploded – but the warhead didn't detonate. Both states could have been completely destroyed.
According to the DOD’s preface, most of these accidents occurred during “logistic/ferry missions or Airborne Alert flights by Strategic Air Command aircraft.”
SO, EVERY TIME WE TRANSPORT ONE OF THESE, THE CHANCE OF AN ACCIDENT INCREASES BY....HOW MUCH???
An accidental nuclear explosion, especially considering how it would take out the communication structure for miles around, could be misconstrued as an attack by the enemy. This means that the safety of the planet depends on the fail-safes in each and every nuclear weapon.
March 6, 2000: A foot long cavity was discovered in the reactor vessel head at Ohio’s Davis-Besse nuclear plant. Borated water had decomposed the metal to a 3/16 inch stainless steel liner which held back over 80,000 gallons of highly pressurized radioactive water.
[NOTE: ALL OF OUR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ARE AGED! RADIATION WEARS OUT METAL, CONCRETE, EVERYTHING, AND THEIR "30-YEAR LIFE EXPECTANCY" IS GREATLY EXAGGERATED AS EXPERTS HAVE WARNED SINCE THE FIRST ONE WAS BUILT!]
Aug. 15, 2007 -- US -- John William Gofman, 88, nuclear chemist and medical researcher (1918 - 2007) In the late 1960s, Gofman and a colleague at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory sounded an alarm about the health effects of radiation from nuclear weapons and nuclear power. They called for federal safety guidelines for low-level exposure to be reduced by 90%. Their findings were disputed by the Atomic Energy Commission, and he was pushed out of government service. Gofman became an activist, helping found the Committee for Nuclear Responsibility, in 1971.
According to the U.S. House of Representatives
Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations,
"Calculation of Reactor Accident Consequences
(CRAC2) for US Nuclear Power Plants” (1982,
1997), an accident at a US nuclear power plant could
kill more people than were killed by the atomic
bomb dropped on Nagasaki.NUCLEAR SUBMARINE ACCIDENTS WE KNOW OF SINCE 2000.
http://nsarchive.wordpress.com/2010/04/02/document-friday-narrative-summaries-of-accidents-involving-nuclear-weapons/
A TWO-TIME ACCIDENT
~The USS Hartford, with a nuclear reactor aboard,, has been involved in TWO accidents since 2003.
On October 25, 2003 Hartford ran aground near La Maddalena in Sardinia with such force that rudders, sonar and other electronic equipment were severely damaged but NO reports on the sub's nuclear reactor.
Two nuclear submarines collided in 2009, the USS Hartford and the USS New Orleans. this accident occurred in the Strait of Hormuz, between Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Musandam, an exclave of Oman, on March 20 2009. We are told there was no damage to either sub's nuclear reactor.
After this incident, Hartford was sent for repairs and after two years, and a final repair cost of $120 million, Hartford returned to duty in February, 2011.
~On February 9, 2001, the American nuclear submarine USS Greeneville accidentally struck and sank a Japanese high-school fisheries training ship, Ehime-Maru, killing nine of the 35 Japanese aboard, including four students, 10 miles (16 km) off the coast of Oahu
~January 7, 2005: The nuclear sub USS San Francisco hit an uncharted sea mountain underwater, causing 23 injuries and 1 death, all due to human collisions with mechanisms inside the submarine. According to the US Navy, there were no environmental effects (Does this mean no radiation leaks after that kind of damage?) and there was no damage to the submarine’s weapons systems.
~On September 5, 2005, the nuclear sub USS Philadelphia was in the Persian Gulf about 30 nautical miles (60 km) northeast of Bahrain when she collided with the Turkish merchant ship MV Yasa Aysen. No injuries were reported on either vessel. The damage to the submarine was described as "superficial."
~On January 8, 2007, nuclear sub USS Newport News was transiting submerged in the Straits of Hormuz when it hit the Japanese tanker Mogamigawa.
~Nuclear sub USS Montpelier and the Aegis cruiser USS San Jacinto collided off the coast of north-eastern Florida on October 13, 2012 during an exercise while the submarine was submerged at periscope depth. There were no injuries aboard either ship.
On 13 November 2002, the nuclear sub USS Oklahoma City collided with the Leif Hoegh liquefied natural gas tanker Norman Lady, east of the Strait of Gibraltar. No one on either vessel was hurt, and there were no leaks of oil from fuel tanks and no threat to the environment, but the submarine sustained damage to her periscope and sail area, and put into La Maddalena, Sardinia, for repairs.
Sunken U.S. nuclear submarines
~Thresher (SSN-593), the first submarine in its class, sank April 10, 1963 during deep-diving trials after flooding, loss of propulsion, and an attempt to blow the emergency ballast tanks failed, causing it to exceed crush depth. All 129 men on board died. Location: 350 km (190 nmi) east of Cape Cod.
~Scorpion (SSN-589), a Skipjack-class submarine, sank May 22, 1968, evidently due to implosion upon reaching its crush depth. What caused the Scorpion to descend to its crush depth is not known. All 99 men on board died. Location: 740 kilometres (400 nmi) southwest of the Azores.
http://nsarchive.wordpress.com/2010/04/02/document-friday-narrative-summaries-of-accidents-involving-nuclear-weapons/
A TWO-TIME ACCIDENT
~The USS Hartford, with a nuclear reactor aboard,, has been involved in TWO accidents since 2003.
On October 25, 2003 Hartford ran aground near La Maddalena in Sardinia with such force that rudders, sonar and other electronic equipment were severely damaged but NO reports on the sub's nuclear reactor.
Two nuclear submarines collided in 2009, the USS Hartford and the USS New Orleans. this accident occurred in the Strait of Hormuz, between Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Musandam, an exclave of Oman, on March 20 2009. We are told there was no damage to either sub's nuclear reactor.
After this incident, Hartford was sent for repairs and after two years, and a final repair cost of $120 million, Hartford returned to duty in February, 2011.
~On February 9, 2001, the American nuclear submarine USS Greeneville accidentally struck and sank a Japanese high-school fisheries training ship, Ehime-Maru, killing nine of the 35 Japanese aboard, including four students, 10 miles (16 km) off the coast of Oahu
~January 7, 2005: The nuclear sub USS San Francisco hit an uncharted sea mountain underwater, causing 23 injuries and 1 death, all due to human collisions with mechanisms inside the submarine. According to the US Navy, there were no environmental effects (Does this mean no radiation leaks after that kind of damage?) and there was no damage to the submarine’s weapons systems.
~On September 5, 2005, the nuclear sub USS Philadelphia was in the Persian Gulf about 30 nautical miles (60 km) northeast of Bahrain when she collided with the Turkish merchant ship MV Yasa Aysen. No injuries were reported on either vessel. The damage to the submarine was described as "superficial."
~On January 8, 2007, nuclear sub USS Newport News was transiting submerged in the Straits of Hormuz when it hit the Japanese tanker Mogamigawa.
~Nuclear sub USS Montpelier and the Aegis cruiser USS San Jacinto collided off the coast of north-eastern Florida on October 13, 2012 during an exercise while the submarine was submerged at periscope depth. There were no injuries aboard either ship.
On 13 November 2002, the nuclear sub USS Oklahoma City collided with the Leif Hoegh liquefied natural gas tanker Norman Lady, east of the Strait of Gibraltar. No one on either vessel was hurt, and there were no leaks of oil from fuel tanks and no threat to the environment, but the submarine sustained damage to her periscope and sail area, and put into La Maddalena, Sardinia, for repairs.
Sunken U.S. nuclear submarines
~Thresher (SSN-593), the first submarine in its class, sank April 10, 1963 during deep-diving trials after flooding, loss of propulsion, and an attempt to blow the emergency ballast tanks failed, causing it to exceed crush depth. All 129 men on board died. Location: 350 km (190 nmi) east of Cape Cod.
~Scorpion (SSN-589), a Skipjack-class submarine, sank May 22, 1968, evidently due to implosion upon reaching its crush depth. What caused the Scorpion to descend to its crush depth is not known. All 99 men on board died. Location: 740 kilometres (400 nmi) southwest of the Azores.
MISSING 'COLD WAR' NUKES
~In a 1968 plane crash, the US military lost an atom bomb in Greenland's Arctic ice. But what the US government kept secret for decades was that a reconstruction of the bomb components found at the site had revealed that a nuclear warhead was missing. It had apparently drilled its way through the ice in North Star Bay. It was never found.
But this was no isolated case.
Up to 50 nuclear warheads are believed to have gone missing during the Cold War, and not all of them are in unpopulated areas.
A much larger number of atom bombs disappeared in plane crashes over the open ocean. "In the early days of the Cold War, the aircraft lacked sufficient range to cross the Atlantic on one tank of fuel," explains nuclear expert Nassauer. "Some bombers collided with their tanker planes, while others simply missed the tankers and, after running out of fuel, plunged into the sea."
~Jan. 17, 1966, the worst nuclear weapons incident of the entire Cold War had taken place off Spain's southeastern coast. During an aerial tanking maneuver, an American B-52 bomber and a KC-135 tanking aircraft collided in mid-air at 9,000 meters (29,000 feet), and both planes exploded in a giant fireball over Palomares. There were four hydrogen bombs in the hold of the B-52. One landed, unharmed, in tomato fields near the village. The non-nuclear fuse detonated in two others causing bomb fragments and plutonium dust to rain down on the impact site. The fourth bomb fell into the water somewhere off the coast, burying itself in several meters of silt. But where exactly did it fall?
~ Probably the most absurd "broken arrow" (America's code word for accidents involving nuclear weapons) happened on Dec. 5, 1965 on board the USS Ticonderoga. The aircraft carrier was en route from Vietnam to Yokosuka in Japan when a fighter-bomber emerging from one of the giant elevators that carry the aircraft from the ship's hold onto the deck plunged into the ocean. The pilot, the aircraft and the nuclear bomb on board sank to a depth of five kilometers (16,400 feet) and were never found.
~ Of the 11 nuclear warheads that are "officially missing", SEVEN were lost at home in the USA. On Feb. 5, 1958, bomber pilot Howard Richardson had to jettison the hydrogen bomb he was carrying after colliding with a fighter jet. The bomb then disappeared in the shallow waters of Wassaw Sound, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Savannah, Georgia, a city of 100,000 people.
Do the LOST bombs still pose a danger? "Weapons that are on the ocean floor are hardly unlikely to explode," says Otfried Nassauer, an expert on nuclear armament and the director of the Berlin Information Center for Transatlantic Security. Nevertheless, he cautions, "perhaps this risk is somewhat greater with the bombs that were lost on land. But virtually nothing is known about whether such bombs can explode spontaneously."
[The above statistics from the Cold War originally appeared on einestages.de, SPIEGEL ONLINE's history Web site. Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-nuclear-needle-in-a-haystack-the-cold-war-s-missing-atom-bombs-a-590513.html]
OTHER "MISSING BOMBS"~February 13, 1950. An American B-36 bomber en route from Alaska to Texas during a training exercise lost power in three engines and began losing altitude. To lighten the aircraft the crew jettisoned its cargo, a 30-kiloton Mark 4 (Fat Man) nuclear bomb, into the Pacific Ocean. The conventional explosives detonated on impact, producing a flash and a shockwave. The bomb's uranium components were lost and never recovered. According to the USAF, the plutonium core wasn't present.
~In a 1968 plane crash, the US military lost an atom bomb in Greenland's Arctic ice. But what the US government kept secret for decades was that a reconstruction of the bomb components found at the site had revealed that a nuclear warhead was missing. It had apparently drilled its way through the ice in North Star Bay. It was never found.
But this was no isolated case.
Up to 50 nuclear warheads are believed to have gone missing during the Cold War, and not all of them are in unpopulated areas.
A much larger number of atom bombs disappeared in plane crashes over the open ocean. "In the early days of the Cold War, the aircraft lacked sufficient range to cross the Atlantic on one tank of fuel," explains nuclear expert Nassauer. "Some bombers collided with their tanker planes, while others simply missed the tankers and, after running out of fuel, plunged into the sea."
~Jan. 17, 1966, the worst nuclear weapons incident of the entire Cold War had taken place off Spain's southeastern coast. During an aerial tanking maneuver, an American B-52 bomber and a KC-135 tanking aircraft collided in mid-air at 9,000 meters (29,000 feet), and both planes exploded in a giant fireball over Palomares. There were four hydrogen bombs in the hold of the B-52. One landed, unharmed, in tomato fields near the village. The non-nuclear fuse detonated in two others causing bomb fragments and plutonium dust to rain down on the impact site. The fourth bomb fell into the water somewhere off the coast, burying itself in several meters of silt. But where exactly did it fall?
~ Probably the most absurd "broken arrow" (America's code word for accidents involving nuclear weapons) happened on Dec. 5, 1965 on board the USS Ticonderoga. The aircraft carrier was en route from Vietnam to Yokosuka in Japan when a fighter-bomber emerging from one of the giant elevators that carry the aircraft from the ship's hold onto the deck plunged into the ocean. The pilot, the aircraft and the nuclear bomb on board sank to a depth of five kilometers (16,400 feet) and were never found.
~ Of the 11 nuclear warheads that are "officially missing", SEVEN were lost at home in the USA. On Feb. 5, 1958, bomber pilot Howard Richardson had to jettison the hydrogen bomb he was carrying after colliding with a fighter jet. The bomb then disappeared in the shallow waters of Wassaw Sound, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Savannah, Georgia, a city of 100,000 people.
Do the LOST bombs still pose a danger? "Weapons that are on the ocean floor are hardly unlikely to explode," says Otfried Nassauer, an expert on nuclear armament and the director of the Berlin Information Center for Transatlantic Security. Nevertheless, he cautions, "perhaps this risk is somewhat greater with the bombs that were lost on land. But virtually nothing is known about whether such bombs can explode spontaneously."
[The above statistics from the Cold War originally appeared on einestages.de, SPIEGEL ONLINE's history Web site. Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-nuclear-needle-in-a-haystack-the-cold-war-s-missing-atom-bombs-a-590513.html]
OTHER "MISSING BOMBS"~February 13, 1950. An American B-36 bomber en route from Alaska to Texas during a training exercise lost power in three engines and began losing altitude. To lighten the aircraft the crew jettisoned its cargo, a 30-kiloton Mark 4 (Fat Man) nuclear bomb, into the Pacific Ocean. The conventional explosives detonated on impact, producing a flash and a shockwave. The bomb's uranium components were lost and never recovered. According to the USAF, the plutonium core wasn't present.
"The Defense Science Board issued a report just this year (2013) saying that our nuclear command-and-control system might be vulnerable to being hacked."
MIGHT BE? HOW IDIOTIC AND ASININE IS THAT STATEMENT BY THE DSB? "Our controls and our systems are superior to that of any other nation, but when you look at the long list of accidents and near-misses that we've had, despite our expertise, it gives you enormous pause about other countries like Pakistan, India, North Korea having nuclear weapons."
MIGHT BE? HOW IDIOTIC AND ASININE IS THAT STATEMENT BY THE DSB? "Our controls and our systems are superior to that of any other nation, but when you look at the long list of accidents and near-misses that we've had, despite our expertise, it gives you enormous pause about other countries like Pakistan, India, North Korea having nuclear weapons."
The rate of decay of a radioactive isotope is
called its half-life, the time in which half the
initial amount of atoms present takes to decay.
The half-life of Plutonium-239, one particularly
lethal component of nuclear waste/WEAPONS, is 240,000 years.
A typical reactor will generate 20 to 30 tons of high-level nuclear waste annually.
We have 104 nuclear reactors in 31 states in America.
There is no known way to safely dispose of this waste, which remains dangerously radioactive until it naturally decays.
BOTTOM LINE?
IF WE HAD ONE "NUCLEAR POWER PLANT ACCIDENT" AND IT WAS WITHIN A MILE OF YOUR HOME, WOULD YOU SAY "THE RISKS OUTWEIGHED THE BENEFITS"?
IF A TRANSPORT PLANE CARRYING NUCLEAR WARHEADS EXPLODED OVER YOUR TOWN WOULD THAT JUST BE TOO BAD, "JUST AN INEVITABLE ACCIDENT"?
IF A TRUCK OR RAIL-CAR CARRYING NUCLEAR WASTE WAS HIJACKED, OR OVERTURNED WITHIN A FEW HUNDRED YARDS OF A SCHOOL YOUR CHILDREN WERE ATTENDING WOULD THAT BE ACCEPTABLE?
FURTHER READING ON WORSE-CASE SCENARIOS, FROM THE STATE OF NEVADA.
http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste/trans/rwma0108.pdf
BELOW THE FLIGHT PATTERN FOR THE 'COLD WAR' ERA PLANES HAULING NUKES.
WERE YOU BELOW THIS PATH?
Operation Chrome Dome, initiated in 1960, was one of several United States Air Force Cold-War era airborne global alert duties or programs in which B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber aircraft armed with thermonuclear weapons were assigned targets in the Soviet Union on schedules guaranteeing that a substantial number of them were flying and fueled for their missions at any given time.
WHERE ARE THEY FLYING TODAY???
YOU WILL NEVER KNOW!
[CLICK ON MAP FOR LARGER VERSION, AND CLICK ON THE 2ND LINK BENEATH THE MAP FOR ANOTHER VERY LARGE MAP.]
A typical reactor will generate 20 to 30 tons of high-level nuclear waste annually.
We have 104 nuclear reactors in 31 states in America.
There is no known way to safely dispose of this waste, which remains dangerously radioactive until it naturally decays.
BOTTOM LINE?
IF WE HAD ONE "NUCLEAR POWER PLANT ACCIDENT" AND IT WAS WITHIN A MILE OF YOUR HOME, WOULD YOU SAY "THE RISKS OUTWEIGHED THE BENEFITS"?
IF A TRANSPORT PLANE CARRYING NUCLEAR WARHEADS EXPLODED OVER YOUR TOWN WOULD THAT JUST BE TOO BAD, "JUST AN INEVITABLE ACCIDENT"?
IF A TRUCK OR RAIL-CAR CARRYING NUCLEAR WASTE WAS HIJACKED, OR OVERTURNED WITHIN A FEW HUNDRED YARDS OF A SCHOOL YOUR CHILDREN WERE ATTENDING WOULD THAT BE ACCEPTABLE?
FURTHER READING ON WORSE-CASE SCENARIOS, FROM THE STATE OF NEVADA.
http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste/trans/rwma0108.pdf
BELOW THE FLIGHT PATTERN FOR THE 'COLD WAR' ERA PLANES HAULING NUKES.
WERE YOU BELOW THIS PATH?
Operation Chrome Dome, initiated in 1960, was one of several United States Air Force Cold-War era airborne global alert duties or programs in which B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber aircraft armed with thermonuclear weapons were assigned targets in the Soviet Union on schedules guaranteeing that a substantial number of them were flying and fueled for their missions at any given time.
WHERE ARE THEY FLYING TODAY???
YOU WILL NEVER KNOW!
[CLICK ON MAP FOR LARGER VERSION, AND CLICK ON THE 2ND LINK BENEATH THE MAP FOR ANOTHER VERY LARGE MAP.]
OPERATION CASTLE BRAVO, BIKINI ATOLL, ONE OF OUR BIGGEST 'HUMAN ERROR' MOMENTS...THOUSANDS WERE AFFECTED BY THIS "UH-OH" NUCLEAR TEST,
IN SOUTH CAROLINA, EARLY 1950s. WE WERE TOLD THIS WAS NOT A NUCLEAR INCIDENT, SO WHY THE GEIGER COUNTER, BOYS?
OUR OUT-OF-DATE, CRUMBLING NUCLEAR REACTORS
In this investigation for People & Power, Joe Rubin and Serene Fang
of the Center for Investigative Reporting examine whether important
safety considerations are being taken into account as the US Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) considers extending the licences of these
plants.
The agency has recently come under fire for glossing over the potential dangers of ageing reactors, for becoming too cosy with the industry and for political infighting among the agency's senior executives, which critics in the US Senate and elsewhere say seriously hampers its ability to ensure safety.
The investigation focuses on the Pacific Gas & Electric nuclear facility at Diablo Canyon and two others, Vermont Yankee and Indian Point in New York.
IN SOUTH CAROLINA, EARLY 1950s. WE WERE TOLD THIS WAS NOT A NUCLEAR INCIDENT, SO WHY THE GEIGER COUNTER, BOYS?
OUR OUT-OF-DATE, CRUMBLING NUCLEAR REACTORS
The agency has recently come under fire for glossing over the potential dangers of ageing reactors, for becoming too cosy with the industry and for political infighting among the agency's senior executives, which critics in the US Senate and elsewhere say seriously hampers its ability to ensure safety.
The investigation focuses on the Pacific Gas & Electric nuclear facility at Diablo Canyon and two others, Vermont Yankee and Indian Point in New York.
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