nuclear-news

Nuclear plants are not safe from terrorist attack

Nuclear sites vulnerable to break-ins The Boston Globe By James Carroll February 15, 2010 +THE GREAT myth about nuclear weapons is that they can be held securely. It was not true in the past, and, as was shockingly demonstrated in Belgium last week, it is not true now……….

Six anti-nuclear activists climbed over an outer fence at Kleine Brogel Air Base, then cut their way through a pair of inner fences, and wandered around the “highly secure’’ base for up to an hour, tracking a route through the snow of more than one kilometer, and ultimately coming within yards of the storage bunker where the nukes are held – all this before being challenged by a guard. They videotaped their unimpeded walk-through of one of the most “secure’’ compounds in the world. Guards finally arrested them and confiscated their camera, but, in yet another show of ineptitude, not before the activists were able to remove its video-card. They posted their caper on YouTube……….

In 2007, a serious breach, involving six unprotected nuclear cruise missiles, occurred in Minot, North Dakota, leading to the firing of the Air Force chief of staff and the secretary of the Air Force. A follow-on investigative task force looking into the overall management of nuclear weapons found “a distressing level of inattention.’’

To err is human, but when it comes to nuclear weapons, the margin for error is near zero. That was true when the threat was massive, but, oddly, now that the threat is the narrower one from terrorists, it is even more true. The only safe nuclear weapon is one that no longer exists.

Nuclear sites vulnerable to break-ins – The Boston Globe

February 15, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reactor