U.S. to resume plutonium 238 production-report
does this mean that other countries can now invade us, force changes to our lifestyle, and call us enemies of our own country when we resist their occupation?
just wondering,
z
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U.S. to resume plutonium 238 production-report
Mon Jun 27, 1:57 AM ET
The United States plans to produce highly radioactive plutonium 238 for the first time since the Cold War, The New York Times reported on Monday.
The newspaper quoted project managers as saying most, if not all, of the new plutonium was intended for secret missions. The officials would not disclose details, but the newspaper said the plutonium in the past powered espionage devices.
The Times said Timothy Frazier, head of radioisotope power systems at the U.S. Energy Department, vigorously denied in a recent interview any of the classified missions would involve nuclear arms, satellites or weapons in space.
"The real reason we're starting production is for national security," Frazier was quoted as saying.
Officials at the Energy Department could not be reached for comment.
The program, which the newspaper said had raised concerns among environmentalists, would produce 330 pounds (150 kg) over 30 years at the Idaho National Laboratory. The program could cost $1.5 billion and generate over 50,000 drums of hazardous and radioactive waste, federal officials told the Times.
Plutonium 238 is hundreds of times more radioactive than plutonium 239, which is used in nuclear arms, according to the newspaper. Medical experts say inhaling even a speck posed a serious risk of lung cancer, the Times said.
The newspaper said plutonium 238 had no central role in nuclear arms, but was valued for its steady heat that could be turned into electricity. Nuclear batteries made from it power spacecraft to go where sunlight is too dim to energize solar cells.
Federal and private experts not connected to the project were quoted as saying the new plutonium would likely power devices for espionage under the sea and on land.
The United States last made plutonium 238 in the 1980s and now relied on aging stockpiles or imports from Russia, the newspaper said. It added that under the agreement with Russia, the United States could not use the imports -- about 35 pounds (16 kg) since the end of the Cold War -- for military purposes.
just wondering,
z
================================
U.S. to resume plutonium 238 production-report
Mon Jun 27, 1:57 AM ET
The United States plans to produce highly radioactive plutonium 238 for the first time since the Cold War, The New York Times reported on Monday.
The newspaper quoted project managers as saying most, if not all, of the new plutonium was intended for secret missions. The officials would not disclose details, but the newspaper said the plutonium in the past powered espionage devices.
The Times said Timothy Frazier, head of radioisotope power systems at the U.S. Energy Department, vigorously denied in a recent interview any of the classified missions would involve nuclear arms, satellites or weapons in space.
"The real reason we're starting production is for national security," Frazier was quoted as saying.
Officials at the Energy Department could not be reached for comment.
The program, which the newspaper said had raised concerns among environmentalists, would produce 330 pounds (150 kg) over 30 years at the Idaho National Laboratory. The program could cost $1.5 billion and generate over 50,000 drums of hazardous and radioactive waste, federal officials told the Times.
Plutonium 238 is hundreds of times more radioactive than plutonium 239, which is used in nuclear arms, according to the newspaper. Medical experts say inhaling even a speck posed a serious risk of lung cancer, the Times said.
The newspaper said plutonium 238 had no central role in nuclear arms, but was valued for its steady heat that could be turned into electricity. Nuclear batteries made from it power spacecraft to go where sunlight is too dim to energize solar cells.
Federal and private experts not connected to the project were quoted as saying the new plutonium would likely power devices for espionage under the sea and on land.
The United States last made plutonium 238 in the 1980s and now relied on aging stockpiles or imports from Russia, the newspaper said. It added that under the agreement with Russia, the United States could not use the imports -- about 35 pounds (16 kg) since the end of the Cold War -- for military purposes.
posted by I am Z @ 11:30 AM
4 Comments:
At 3:35 PM,
Laurie Schmaurie said…
No it doesn't Zayne because WE ARE THE MAMA SHIP!!!! ;)
At 10:40 PM,
taliendo said…
scary.
At 9:10 PM,
Anonymous said…
Didn't you know? You're only a "rogue state" if you're not the US of A or one of its allies. Plutonium 238? How about depleted uranium weapons and land mines, both outlawed by the UN, both still being used the US.
Every American should be issued with a copy of Jackson Browne's "Lives In The Balance".
:)
At 1:01 AM,
deedub said…
There's such a stigma in North America toward nuclear energy.. if it weren't for Hiroshima and Nagasaki, perhaps North America would be more welcoming towards nuclear energy (like some European countries and Japan). Introductions and developments of fast breeder reactors (and further designs that could have been built off current fast breeder reactors) could harness the engery of other radioactive elements that are not fissionable by modern reactors; at least until we could find a viable source (or sources) of clean energy.
It's amazing that global warming is right in front of us and it's not seen as much of a threat. There's pressure towards a Hydrogen-based economy, and for what? to have the hyrdogen produced from water and electricity utilized from a coal-fired power plant? This seems counterproductive and illogical, since the burning of coal gives off, for the most part, carbon dioxide.
I heard the site for ITER, the international fusion reactor, has recently been chosen to be built in France; Pity that it's taken around two decades for it JUST to just begin construction.. and at least another decade to complete. We needed it yesterday.
whatever, i guess..
what do i know?
it's all politics.. fuck that!
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