USA government should fund safety of radiological materials, not fund more nuclear weapons

Government should eliminate, not modernize, nuclear arsenal Use funding to secure radiological materials By Theresa Shaffer Buffalo News 5 Jan 15 Cheating on required monthly exams, low morale and security lapses are all problems that have been cited in missile facilities across the United States. At the third Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons Conference held in Vienna, Austria, last month, Eric Schlosser, an investigative journalist and author of “Command and Control,” emphasized that it’s a miracle there hasn’t been a catastrophic accident involving nuclear weapons yet. “The problem with luck,” he said, “is that eventually it runs out.”

Schlosser provided one example out of a thousand mishaps that have occurred. In Goldsboro, N.C., in 1961, two hydrogen bombs fell out of a B-52 bomber when the plane went into a tailspin. Three of the four safety mechanisms in one of those bombs become unlocked as it plunged to the ground. Fortunately, the last switch prevented the full detonation of a 4-megaton hydrogen bomb.

With all of this in mind, it’s clear that something needs to be done to address the serious issues undermining the safety of our nuclear arsenal.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who recently resigned, suggested that the United States inject billions of dollars into modernizing these facilities and retraining staff. However, the 2015 “CRomnibus” appropriations bill does not accomplish these things.

President Obama has repeatedly stated the need to secure radiological material worldwide in order to prevent a terrorist or criminal from fabricating a dirty bomb. Yet in this omnibus bill, funding to combat the proliferation of nuclear materials to terrorists and criminals was cut by 17 percent from 2014, while at the same time spending on nuclear weapons increased by 5 percent from last year. It seems like Hagel’s suggestion isn’t securing anything but more procurement for the Department of Defense.

A better idea to resolve the safety issues affecting our nuclear arsenal is to use those funds to secure and eliminate radiological materials worldwide and to work on getting rid of nuclear weapons rather than injecting more money into making new ones.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that $355 billion will be spent on modernizing the nation’s nuclear forces from 2014 to 2023. Pressure should be placed on the incoming Congress to reduce spending on nuclear weapons in the 2016 budget, since these weapons pose more of a risk than an asset.

At the Vienna conference, the Arms Control Association – along with Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Federation of American Scientists, the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research – delivered a statement suggesting four practical ways Obama can work to “reduce global nuclear dangers and move us closer to the elimination of all nuclear weapons:”

• Diminish the role and significance of nuclear weapons.

• U.S.-Russian nuclear weapons cuts and freeze other nations’ stockpiles.

• Convene nuclear disarmament summits.

• Follow through on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty…………http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/viewpoints/government-should-eliminate-not-modernize-nuclear-arsenal-20150104