Forest fires erupt around Chernobyl nuclear plant 
Forest fires erupt around Chornobyl nuclear plant, https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3441388-forest-fires-erupt-around-chornobyl-nuclear-plant.html Forest fires have broken out in the exclusion zone around the Chornobyl nuclear power plant because of combat actions. More than 10,000 hectares of forests are burning, which may cause increased levels of radioactive air pollution.
Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova wrote this on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.
Fire control and extinguishing is impossible due to the seizure of the exclusion zone by Russian troops, she wrote.
As a result of combustion, radionuclides are released into the atmosphere, which are transported by wind over long distances, which threatens radiation to Ukraine, Belarus and European countries. Due to windy and dry weather, the severity and area of fires will grow, which can lead to large-scale fires, which are difficult to deal with even in peacetime.
Denisova warned that the flames could engulf spent nuclear fuel storage facilities and nuclear waste storage facilities located in the Chornobyl zone.
She called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to “send experts and firefighting equipment to Ukraine as soon as possible to prevent irreparable consequences not only for Ukraine but for the whole world.”
“Catastrophic consequences can be prevented only by immediate de-occupation of the territory by Russian troops. Therefore, I call on international human rights organizations to take all possible measures to increase pressure on the Russian Federation to end military aggression against Ukraine and de-occupy high-risk areas,” she wrote.
What is the risk of a nuclear accident in Ukraine?
What is the risk of a nuclear accident in Ukraine? A radiation expert
speaks from Kyiv. Vadim Chumak monitored radiation after Chernobyl. He
explains what could go wrong now, and says he’s “old enough to
sacrifice” his life.
Of particular worry is that if a nuclear catastrophe
strikes, scientists might not be able to monitor it or measure its impacts,
says Chumak, who works on ways to monitor radiation exposure and played a
key role in dose assessment following the Chernobyl disaster, when a
nuclear reactor at the site exploded in 1986. Today, he remains close
enough to Kyiv to help should a nuclear disaster result from Russia’s
invasion.
MIT Technology Review 25th March 2022
Warning on effect of Russian force’s attack on nuclear research facility
| Russian forces have been firing at a nuclear research facility in Kharkiv, the Ukrainian parliament has said. The nation’s parliament said it is currently not possible to determine the scale of the damage of the attack. “It is currently impossible to estimate the extent of damage due to hostilities that do not stop in the area of the nuclear installation,” quoted the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate as saying. Russian forces last fired on a nuclear reactor facility in the city over two weeks ago, hitting a building where there is equipment that officials warned could release radiation if damaged. The research facility is a part of the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology, which reportedly produces radioactive materials for medical and industrial usage. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) previously warned that potential destruction of the facility would lead to a large-scale environmental disaster. Independent 27th March 2022https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-bomb-nuclear-reactor-kharkiv-b2044788.html |
Big ‘doomsday plane’ for the Big Nobs, in the event of nuclear war, arrives in Britain
US ‘Doomsday Plane’ capable of surviving nuclear war arrives in Britain
Boeing aircraft can fly non-stop for six days with equipment designed to withstand electromagnetic blast https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2022/03/25/us-doomsday-plane-capable-of-surviving-nuclear-war-arrives-in-britain/ Thomas Harding. Mar 25, 2022
An aircraft known as the “Doomsday Plane” that is capable of enduring the aftermath of a nuclear detonation has landed in Britain.
The arrival of the US Nightwatch plane from Andrews Air Force Base, Washington, comes amid fears of a nuclear strike by Russia, with its invasion of Ukraine stalled.
The aircraft, call sign GRIM99, is described as the Flying Pentagon and could be used as a centre of operations during a nuclear war.
Capable of flying 150 hours non-stop with the aid of airborne refuelling, the Boeing 747 is officially known as the National Emergency Airborne Operations Centre and is one of four such planes on constant standby.
Much of the aircraft’s equipment is secret, but it is known to carry nuclear and thermal shielding and enough communications for a US defence chief to direct a war.
It is used to transport the US defence secretary during a conflict, providing a back-up to the Pentagon. Its livery paintwork is similar to the US president’s Air Force One.
The four aircraft are based in Nebraska and have been operational since 1980. Each stands six storeys high and has four powerful General Electric engines equipped with huge fuel tanks to avoid the need to land and refuel during a nuclear exchange.
The plane’s flight deck equipment is analogue, so it can withstand jamming or the electromagnetic pulse that follows a nuclear detonation.
The “radome” hump on its back contains 67 different satellite dishes and antennae, giving the defence secretary and his commanders the ability to contact warships, submarines, aircraft and landlines around the world.
A crew of 112 people has the use of three decks, with 18 bunks beds, six bathrooms, a kitchen, conference room, briefing room and an operations centre.
The interior design is basic, with few modern-day comforts and no touch screens, as digital technology would be almost completely disabled during a nuclear exchange. However, the conference centre does have two 80-inch flat screen televisions.
It has a maximum speed of 969kph, can fly at 14,000 metres and has a take-off load of 377,000kg. The aircraft will remain in service until 2039.
Chernobyl nuclear worker gives the inside story on the dire situation for the staff as Russians took over.
Chernobyl nuclear power plant: Worker reveals risk of accident as Russians force staff to do 24-hour shifts i News, By Isabella Bengoechea, March 25, 2022 A Chernobyl worker has given the first inside account after the power plant was seized by Russian forces i News
A Chernobyl worker has given the first inside account of life at the nuclear plant since the Russian invasion and warned that exhausted staff are being forced to work 24-hour shifts, increasing the risk of an accident.
Mykola Pobiedin, foreman of the radioactive waste processing workshop at Chernobyl, who worked as a liquidator there after the 1986 disaster, described a dire safety situation where the plant was encircled by military trucks and tanks and troops patrolled with machine guns.
He compared allowing Chernobyl to be operated by exhausted staff to a bus driver who “has not slept for days” transporting passengers.
Chernobyl, the site of the worst nuclear disaster in history, was captured by Russia on the first day of invasion on 24 February.
More than 200 workers were forced to stay on site. On 20 March, about 100 were allowed to return to their homes, after nearly four weeks working under armed guard.
Personnel at Chernobyl usually work in 12-hour shifts before being replaced by the next shift.
However, because no rotation was permitted, they were forced to work for 24 hours straight with one half hour break.
Mr Pobiedin, who gave permission to be identified, spoke to i by phone from the city of Slavutych, which was built in 1986 to house workers evacuated from the plant after the disaster.
In a separate debrief, he spoke to Valeriy Korshunov, founder of the European Institute of Chernobyl, a Ukraine-based NGO which works to educate the public about the Chernobyl disaster through scientific and cultural projects, in order to prevent new nuclear disasters in future.
Mr Korshunov and his organisation hope to publicise the plight of the Chernobyl workers to draw attention to the dangerous situation Russia has inflicted on Ukraine’s nuclear sites.
He passed on his comments to i, with the permission of Mr Pobiedin and his family.
Mr Pobiedin suggested there was an increased risk of accidents as a result of the extreme fatigue of staff working at such a sensitive site.
“There may be some errors, some actions are not undertaken,” he said. “A tired person would do a mistake and it will cause issues.”
Though reluctant to cause alarm about a possible nuclear accident at Chernobyl, he added: “If you are riding a bus in which the driver has not slept for days. What could it lead to? If Europe agrees to drive with such a bus driver, then let it be…”
“There is a break for half an hour, for example to eat or for private needs, and the rest of the time people are concentrated on watching monitors. This is intellectual work; you cannot be distracted.”
Despite having managed to leave the power plant, his memories of Russia’s attack on the first day of the invasion are still stark.
“Everything started with the ‘Everyone to the bomb shelter’ alarm, which we followed,” he said.
“Then this whole situation got clear – it was a seizure.
“Then came the command ‘Everyone to the workplace!’ Well, then we started organising our life there somehow, adapting to the situation.
“The Russian military did not enter the territory of the power unit. They drove around the industrial site in their armored personnel carriers. In this way they controlled the whole situation.
“In other words, everything around us was encircled…………………………
the staff managed to keep up their spirits by attempting to carry on as normal and listening to the Ukrainian national anthem on the radio…………………………….
Since the release of the staff, only about 50 have opted to replace them – a perhaps understandable reluctance considering they would be going as hostages with no idea of when they could leave.
“I saw they arrived with backpacks,” said Mr Pobiedin. “They probably took something, but how long will it last?”
He called for the regular rotation of sufficient personnel to ensure the safety of the nuclear facilities: “The rotation is very important. We can’t let people just be there indefinitely.
“Some personnel change should be done. The Russians are not opposing to such shift changes. It should be scheduled: once a week, once every 10 days … So that people know and get prepared.
“And not so that people come and do not know how long they must stay. One does not know if it is one day, 20 days or for ever.”
While the freed workers may have breathed a sigh of relief at finally leaving, they may not have escaped the worst of their ordeals.
Many live in Slavuytsch, about 40km from Chernobyl. However the city is under intense shelling by the Russians.
Others who live in other nearby settlements are currently trapped in the city and cannot return home. When i was speaking to Mr Pobiedin, our interview was cut off halfway through after sirens went off and he had to go down into a bomb shelter. https://inews.co.uk/news/inside-chernobyl-nuclear-power-plant-accident-risk-1540986
So far, Zaporizhzhya’s nuclear reactors are being managed safely under Russian control
As Russian military forces shelled the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant
(ZNPP) in southern Ukraine on March 4, 2022, a fire broke out on the site.
Among the six reactor units at the complex, auxiliary buildings attached to
the Zaporizhzhya Unit 1 reactor were damaged. Fortunately, the damage did
not threaten the safety of the unit. And a recent assessment by the
International Atomic Energy Agency indicates that, although management of
the plant by a Russian military commander is less than ideal, “regular
staff have continued to operate the Zaporizhzhya [nuclear power plant]”
and “at least 11 representatives of the Russian state [nuclear power]
company Rosatom were also present there, without interfering with the
operation of the nuclear facilities.”
Even so, Russia’s military
attacks on the Zaporizhzhya plant raise great concerns about the
possibility of nuclear accidents. Some experts have suggested the attack on
Zaporizhzhya could have caused a huge catastrophe; others were much more
conservative in their estimates of possible radiation releases from such an
attack. To illustrate the potential damage from a military attack on a
nuclear power plant, we simulated and analyzed hypothetical releases from a
core meltdown and spent fuel pool fire at one unit, Zaporizhzhya 1, if an
attack by missiles or artillery had disabled cooling systems there.
Bulletin of Atomic Scientists 23rd March 2022
Could an attack on Ukrainian nuclear facilities cause a disaster greater than Chernobyl? Possibly, simulations show.
The work of Ukraine-based European Institute of Chernobyl.
Chernobyl nuclear power plant: Worker reveals risk of accident as Russians force staff to do 24-hour shifts , i News, By Isabella Bengoechea March 25, 2022
”………………………………………………i has been working with the European Institute of Chernobyl, a Ukraine-based NGO that focuses on research, popularisation and dissemination of information about the Chernobyl disaster through scientific, educational, social and cultural projects and initiatives, with the aim of preventing new nuclear catastrophes happening in future.
The public organisation, which began its work in 2017, also focuses on protecting the rights and interests of participants in the liquidation of the fallout of the Chernobyl accident, as well as citizens affected by the disaster.
Last April, the group launched an information campaign and programme of events to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the disaster. Partnered with the National Museum of Chernobyl, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), groups representing liquidators and former Pripyat [abandoned town nearest to the Chernobyl plant] residents, as well as music and art projects.
Valeriy Korshunov, the founder of the Institute, has criticised the International Atomic Energy Agency for what he sees as an insufficiently robust response to Russia’s aggressive actions against Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.
“At the time of the Chernobyl accident there was silence from the Russians, from the Soviet government, they were trying to hide the situation. So in every project about Chernobyl, we’re saying we need to learn the lessons of Chernobyl.
It founded a project in the past year called Help Chernobyl, organising legal benefits, subsidies and medical operations to help the liquidators of the Chernobyl disaster during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last April, the group launched an information campaign and programme of events to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the disaster. Partnered with the National Museum of Chernobyl, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), groups representing liquidators and former Pripyat [abandoned town nearest to the Chernobyl plant] residents, as well as music and art projects.
Valeriy Korshunov, the founder of the Institute, has criticised the International Atomic Energy Agency for what he sees as an insufficiently robust response to Russia’s aggressive actions against Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.
“At the time of the Chernobyl accident there was silence from the Russians, from the Soviet government, they were trying to hide the situation. So in every project about Chernobyl, we’re saying we need to learn the lessons of Chernobyl.
“But now we know we haven’t learnt it first time, because we’re seeing similar things now. And Russia and Rosatom are tyring to hide what happened at Chernobyl, what happened at Zaporizhzhya which was shelled and captured by Russia this month.”
“The IAEA must do a lot more in this situation. The shelling of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant is an act of nuclear terrorism. The IAEA need to do something about this but they are silent.”
The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine said this week: “Right now the enemy is trying to seize the Slavutych city and is conducting shelling of the checkpoints. Personnel working at the Chernobyl NPP facilities, as well as at facilities and enterprises located in the Exclusion Zone live in Slavutych.
“The current situation endangers the lives and health of Chernobyl NPP employees and their families, creates significant psychological and moral pressure on operational personnel ensuring nuclear and radiation safety of the Chernobyl NPP facilities, and makes it impossible to ensure the personnel rotation.”
It added: “The information received from the Chornobyl NPP indicates that the operational personnel maintain the safety parameters of the facilities at the NPP site within the standard values. At the same time, the Russian military continue to grossly violate the radiation safety requirements and strict access control procedures at the NPP and in the Exclusion Zone, which leads to deterioration of the radiation situation at the site. https://inews.co.uk/news/inside-chernobyl-nuclear-power-plant-accident-risk-1540986
IAEA concerned that Russia is shelling Ukrainian checkpoints in the city of Slavutych, near Chernobyl
 IAEA concerened that Russia |
Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today that
Russian forces were shelling Ukrainian checkpoints in the city of Slavutych
where many people working at the nearby Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP)
live, putting them at risk and preventing further rotation of personnel to
and from the site, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
Ukraine’s regulatory authority said the shelling was endangering “the homes and
families of those operational personnel that ensure the nuclear and
radiation safety” of the Chornobyl NPP, which is under the control of
Russian forces since 24 February.
Slavutych is located outside the
Exclusion Zone that was established around the NPP after the 1986 accident.
Director General Grossi expressed concern about this development, which
comes just a few days after technical staff at the Chornobyl NPP were
finally able to rotate and go to their homes in Slavutych and rest after
working for nearly four weeks without a change of shift, and he said the
IAEA would continue to closely monitor the situation. Staff now working at
the site also come from Slavutych.
IAEA 24th March 2022
International Atomic Energy Agency’s grave concern over safety of Ukraine’s nuclear reactors
| The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA’s) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has said “we cannot afford to lose any more time” in concluding an agreed framework for ensuring nuclear safety and security in Ukraine. Grossi, who expressed “grave concern” about the situation, has been seeking to secure an agreement with the two sides since meeting the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine two weeks ago in Turkey. He said the IAEA “is ready and able to deploy immediately and provide indispensable assistance for ensuring nuclear safety and security in Ukraine”. World Nuclear News 24th March 2022 https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/IAEA-ready-to-deploy-to-Ukraine-immediately |
Nato countries set to give Ukraine kit to protect against nuclear and chemical attacks
Nato countries set to give Ukraine kit to protect against nuclear and chemical attacks
Secretary general says equipment would be ‘to protect against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats’, Guardian, Dan Sabbagh in Brussels and Andrew Roth, 23 Mar 22,
Nato countries are expected to agree at Thursday’s emergency summit of the western military alliance to provide special kit to protect Ukraine against any chemical, biological or nuclear attacks launched by Russia…….
The Nato chief declined to spell out exactly what would be supplied, though it is likely to include gas masks and protective suits. But his statement reflects heightened uncertainty across alliance members about Russian intentions as the invasion of Ukraine has stalled on multiple fronts.,…………………….. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/23/nato-countries-to-give-ukraine-kit-to-protect-against-chemical-and-nuclear-attacks
Deal on Ukrainian nuclear safety to come ‘soon,’ says IAEA chief
Deal on Ukrainian nuclear safety to come ‘soon,’ says IAEA chief, https://www.politico.eu/article/deal-ukraine-nuclear-safety-iaea-chief-russia-war/
Agency hopes to send experts to Ukraine to get ‘credible, objective’ on the ground information.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is closing in on a deal to guarantee the safety and security of nuclear facilities in Ukraine, according to its chief Rafael Mariano Grossi.
“We are negotiating, we are approaching what we want to be the final stages of our consultations,” Grossi told European lawmakers on Monday, adding he hoped to reach a deal “very soon.”
The discussions, which started on March 10, are “very delicate” diplomatically, he said.
The future framework will make “no political references to the situation in the plants or no connection that could be construed as legitimizing the presence of anybody in a foreign territory,” according to Grossi, responding to concerns that it could be used by Moscow to legitimize control over parts of Ukraine’s territory.
He added that it will require Russia and Ukraine to “observe some of the rules … that have been repeatedly violated with enormous risk for the population, local, regional, European populations” since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February.
Russian troops have taken control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the active nuclear power station at Zaporizhzhia, prompting fears of potential nuclear disaster and large-scale environmental damage.
Grossi has repeatedly expressed his concerns about nuclear safety as the conflict unfolds, but at no point has the IAEA warned of explicit and immediate danger outside Ukraine.
Speaking to MEPs on Monday, he stressed that “nuclear power plants are very robust, they can sustain an airplane that falls on them.” It would take “massive means” to get to the core of a reactor. He also repeated that targeting nuclear plants would constitute a breach of international law.
Once the framework is agreed, Grossi said he hopes to send IAEA experts to Ukraine “to facilitate the situation there, also as a deterrent to new, complicated, dangerous occurrences taking places.”
Experts will also look to gather “credible, objective information” about the situation on the ground, he said, noting that it is becoming “increasingly difficult” to ascertain the facts of the situation “because there are conflicting narratives about what is happening.”
Chernobyl radiation monitors ‘not working’
Chernobyl radiation monitors ‘not working’ https://www.cessnockadvertiser.com.au/story/7667680/chernobyl-radiation-monitors-not-working/?cs=6981Australian Associated Press 21 Mar 22,
Ukraine’s nuclear regulatory agency says the radiation monitors around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, site of the world’s worst meltdown in 1986, have stopped working.
In a statement on Monday, the agency also said there are no longer firefighters available in the region to protect forests tainted by decades of radioactivity as the weather warms.
The plant was seized by Russian forces on February 24.
According to Monday’s statement, the combination of risks could mean a “significant deterioration” of the ability to control the spread of radiation not just in Ukraine but beyond the country’s borders in weeks and months to come.
Management of the Chernobyl plant said on Sunday that 50 staff members who had been working non-stop since the Russian takeover have been rotated out and replaced.
Shrouded in doubt: safety issues at Russian-occupied nuclear stations in Ukraine
Kate Brown and Susan Solomon: One thing nuclear power plants weren’t built to survive: War. Military strategists commonly target the enemy’s electrical grid. That’s a problem when combat is in a nuclearized country like Ukraine.
Inside the New Safe Confinement at the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine in 2021, The structure encloses the radioactive remains of the reactor that exploded in 1986. Russian
forces are now in control of the site. The day Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian forces took control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
A week later, flares from Russian artillery lit up the Zaporizhzhia plant; Ukrainian media reported that the Russian army had placed land mines around the plant’s perimeter and was stockpiling arms at both nuclear installations. The army is now pointed at yet another nuclear facility, the South Ukraine plant.
But Russia’s is the first invasion of a country that derives more than half its energy from nuclear power. It stands to reason that Russian generals will seek to capture all 15 active reactors in Ukraine. The Russian army appears to be using the nuclear installations as safe havens, calculating that the Ukrainians will not fire on them, but we can still expect plenty more fearful nights spent riveted to scenes of battles over huge concrete towers and rows of basins filled with radioactive spent nuclear fuel:
It turns out that reactor containment buildings have never been stress-tested for blows from heavy artillery or missiles. Even without a direct hit on a reactor, we are learning of the fragility of nuclear power plants. Normal oversight and operations have essentially been replaced by isolation and disorder.
Workers at Chernobyl have been on the job continuously for more than three weeks. They have no
clean clothes (important for nuclear workers), no real beds, no contact with family, no proper meals or rest.
At the Zaporizhzhia plant, according to a Ukrainian official, Russian soldiers have forced employees into
submission. Employee-hostages — exhausted, hungry and stressed — could make mistakes. So could the untrained Russian military personnel who aregiving the orders. Communication to these sites is largely cut off.
Independent oversight experts cannot enter to verify safe operations or deliver spare parts. Russian diplomats continue to enjoy a privileged role at the International Atomic Energy Agency, despite the war. We have to rely on what the IAEA and the Russian army tell us.
In the past, Soviet nuclear information services specialized in secrecy and mistruths. One of us, while
working on a history of Chernobyl, found that the IAEA had difficulty acknowledging the public health impact of the fallout from the 1986 explosion there. Russian information services again appear to be opaque and untrustworthy. If an accident occurs, we don’t have confidence that rescue squads and firefighters can get to captured nuclear installations to deal with infernos and injuries. Nor can we be sure that we will learn the full extent of the damage and spread of radioactive sources.
Washington Post 18th March 2022
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/03/18/chernobyl-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-ukraine/
5 USA States selected for target areas for the enemy, in a nuclear war
Despite the criticism, the U.S. appears to be committed to the idea of a nuclear sponge in those five states. The Pentagon plans to spend $264 billion on its next-generation ICBM program, which would upgrade the silos and missiles, and ensure the absorbency of the sponges.
These 5 states were designed to act as America’s ‘nuclear sponge’ https://www.fastcompany.com/90732588/5-states-nuclear-sponge-missile-silos
Since the Cold War, the U.S. has strategically kept missile silos in sparsely populated areas of the country.
BY CHRIS MORRIS, 19 Mar 22,
The ongoing saber-rattling by Vladimir Putin has raised concerns about a nuclear conflict to a level not seen since the 1980s. Nuclear strategists have tried to calm nerves, insisting that the odds of the situation escalating to one that would lead to such a disastrous scenario are remote. Still, António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, acknowledged this week that “the prospect of nuclear war is now back within the realm of possibility.”
Those stark statements have caused some Americans to wonder if they’re in a high-target area. While the overall risk of nuclear war is low, and there’s no telling where Putin will strike in the unlikely scenario that he decides to attack the U.S., people in a handful of states are likely feeling a bit more uncomfortable than folks in other parts of the country.
During the Cold War between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, government officials began to install intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silos in the middle of the country, specifically in sparsely populated areas of northern Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana, and North Dakota. These were designed to be the first targets in the event of an attack—a “nuclear sponge” that would draw fire away from more urban areas.
(Minuteman missile fields were also once located in South Dakota and Missouri but have since been deactivated. Those in the other states remain active.)
A term like nuclear sponge isn’t reassuring, but the thinking goes like this, as specified by retired General Jim Mattis in his 2017 confirmation hearings for secretary of defense: Because the missiles are buried so deeply in the ground in those areas, enemies would need to commit two, three, or four weapons to take each one out, thus “absorbing” much of the enemy’s arsenal.
Because the silos are located in sparsely populated areas of the Plains, proponents argue that fewer lives are put at direct risk. But the logic of designating an area as a prime attack zone in a nuclear conflict is puzzling to many—and the concept of a nuclear sponge is one that has drawn criticism for decades. In 1978, Dominic Paolucci, a retired Navy captain who served on the Strat-X team that assessed U.S. strategic options in the 1960s, railed against the strategy saying, “It is madness to use United States real estate as ‘a great sponge to absorb’ Soviet nuclear weapons. The objective of our military forces and strategy should be to reduce the weight of any potential attack on U.S. real estate rather than attracting even more.”
There are plenty of other arguments to be made today. Nukes, of course, no longer have to be delivered via ICBMs and can be launched from submarines and bombers. And Russia’s arsenal reportedly has more than 1,500 warheads deployed on strategic long-range systems and almost 3,000 in reserve. That’s more than enough to strike larger cities in addition to saturating the sponge.
Despite the criticism, the U.S. appears to be committed to the idea of a nuclear sponge in those five states. The Pentagon plans to spend $264 billion on its next-generation ICBM program, which would upgrade the silos and missiles, and ensure the absorbency of the sponge for decades to come.
Fears of nuclear war in Europe stoke demand for fancy bunkers
Fears of nuclear war in Europe stoke demand for fancy bunkers, Wink News,
| Author: MEGAN CERULLO / CBS Moneywatch, 20 Mar 22, |
In a matter of weeks, COVID-19 pandemic fears in Europe have given way to another concern that nightmares are made of: the possibility that Russia could use a nuclear weapon.
……. U.S. and overseas manufacturers of residential bunkers say they’ve seen a spike in customer inquiries and orders — a surge they attribute to the war in Eastern Europe and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision late last month to put his country’s nuclear forces on alert.
Gary Lynch, general manager of Rising S Company, a residential bunker builder based in Murchison, Texas, said he recently started receiving inquiries from prospective customers in Italy, Romania, Sweden and the U.K., in addition to the U.S. and Canada…….
“Excellent man caves”
Manufacturers say the pre-fab shelters will withstand exposure to chemical, biological and nuclear attacks. Some use a steel frame strong enough to resist earthquakes and include bullet-resistant doors. The highest-end models — which can cost millions of dollars — may include air filtration systems, solar charging stations, freshwater inlets, waste removal tanks and infrared security.
Rising S makes bunkers in a local factory and ships them overseas. Over a recent 10-day period, Lynch said he got 1,600 inquiries from people interested in an underground shelter where they could take refuge in the event of a nuclear incident. That compares with the two to six calls he normally would have fielded over that same span of time from consumers looking to build a panic room or secure storage spaces for weapons or valuables.
Forty of those customer inquiries led to sales of bunkers ranging in price from $60,000 to around $200,000, including installation.
………… a premium Artemis Protection bunker resembles a luxury apartment, complete with high ceilings, recessed lighting and high-end fittings, along with basic amenities including a living room, shower and television.
……. The nicer bunkers are designed to resemble “an underground mountain chalet,”…….
In another sign of the times, pharmacies in Finland, Norway and Luxembourg have sold out of iodine and potassium iodide pills, which can be used to blunt the effects of exposure to nuclear radiation……… https://www.winknews.com/2022/03/20/fears-of-nuclear-war-in-europe-stoke-demand-for-fancy-bunkers/
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