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Title: US's most powerful nuclear bomb being dismantled
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URL Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uss-most-powe ... W9zdF9wb3B1bGFyBHZlcgM2MWVlMjd
Published: Oct 26, 2011
Author: BETSY BLANEY - Associated Press
Post Date: 2011-10-26 08:20:33 by Tatarewicz
Keywords: None
Views: 84
Comments: 2
AMARILLO, Texas (AP) — The last of the nation's most powerful nuclear bombs — a weapon hundreds of times stronger than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima — is being disassembled nearly half a century after it was put into service at the height of the Cold War. The final components of the B53 bomb will be broken down Tuesday at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, the nation's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility. The completion of the dismantling program is a year ahead of schedule, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, and aligns with President Barack Obama's goal of reducing the number of nuclear weapons. Thomas D'Agostino, the nuclear administration's chief, called the bomb's elimination a "significant milestone." Put into service in 1962, when Cold War tensions peaked during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the B53 weighed 10,000 pounds and was the size of a minivan. According to the American Federation of Scientists, it was 600 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, killing as many as 140,000 people and helping end World War II. The B53 was designed to destroy facilities deep underground, and it was carried by B-52 bombers. With its destruction, the next largest bomb in operation will be the B83, said Hans Kristensen, a spokesman for the Federation of American Scientists. It's 1.2 megatons, while the B53 was 9 megatons. The B53's disassembly ends the era of big megaton bombs, he said. The bombs' size helped compensate for their lack of accuracy. Today's bombs are smaller but more precise, reducing the amount of collateral damage, Kristensen said. Since the B53 was made using older technology by engineers who have since retired or died, developing a disassembly process took time. Engineers had to develop complex tools and new procedures to ensure safety. "We knew going in that this was going to be a challenging project, and we put together an outstanding team with all of our partners to develop a way to achieve this objective safely and efficiently," said John Woolery, the plant's general manager. Many of the B53s were disassembled in the 1980s, but a significant number remained in the U.S. arsenal until they were retired from the stockpile in 1997. Pantex spokesman Greg Cunningham said he couldn't comment on how many of the bombs have been disassembled at the Texas plant. The weapon is considered dismantled when the roughly 300 pounds of high explosives inside are separated from the special nuclear material, known as the pit. The uranium pits from bombs dismantled at Pantex will be stored on an interim basis at the plant, Cunningham said. The non-nuclear material and components are then processed, which includes sanitizing, recycling and disposal, the National Nuclear Security Administration said last fall when it announced the Texas plant's role in the B53 dismantling. The plant will play a large role in similar projects as older weapons are retired from the U.S.'s nuclear arsenal. From among 6,194 comments D'booger Never fear, the depleted uranium is used in dense inert metal explosives - we gave Israel a whole bunch of these to blow up Gazan women and children - and it works - big time. IntellectualDementia "hey, i cut the green wire, right? ah screw it, i'm cutting it." harry nutzack • Miami, nukes have a 35 year "shelf life".... thats why the majority were torn down by 97.... probably couldnt have sustained a fusion cycle by this late date.... more smoke and mirrors PavlvsMaximvs I like how they have to throw in the body count for Hiroshima. How is that relevant? This Nuclear bomb could kill way more people, and probably make a lot of the world uninhabitable (if not all of it, via nuclear winter). Far more people died in the conventional fire bombings of Tokyo and Dresden in WW2. They should mention how many people the bombs saved by ending the war. They might want to recall that the Japanese planned to fight to extinction. Even after Hirohito recorded the surrender announcement to be played to the Japanese public, Major Kenji Hatanaka staged a coup to attempt to capture the record and the emperor, thus being able to continue fighting. Lucky for Japan, he failed. Had the war drug on, and US soldiers been forced to invade the 4 main islands, an estimated 2 million Americans would have died taking over Kyuushuu alone. The Japanese casualties would have been unfathomable. In addition to Kamikaze pilots, ordinary citizens were being trained to become suicide bombers. All you need to do is study Okinawa if you want to see how the Japanese would have fought in Japan. Look at the horrific casualty ratios. 12,000 Americans killed compared to 95,000 Japanese and Okinawans. They weren't surrendering any time soon. The only reason the Empire of Japan surrendered was because there was no way to fight back against "fat man" and "little boy." jeff • Santa Clara, tell me what the f---k is it with the whole god dam world today? why does every one want to kill every one? cant all of the people just get along, shit it is so stupid to be in every ones biz ens. hell if we could just get along that would just be the best thing ever but i do not see that taking place any time soon,let god be with all of us , Tatarewicz Everyone doesn't want to kill everyone. It's just the world's fake Jews who want the US to kill those who challenge the existence of the illegal Israeli state.
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#1. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
I think the parts will find their way to a third party who will likely detonate it on American Soil, so we have a pretext to go to war with Iran. I look at this planet and see where things are headed. There are so many so called Christians, and so called jews who want to bring about that whole end times scenario, just so they can reap the benefits of Israel being in the center of the universe. Jesus isn't coming back, and we're all damned in this world anyway. The lies of a few, outweigh the needs of the many. "Call Me Ishmael" -Ishmael, A character from the book "Moby Dick" 1851. "Call Me Fishmeal" -Osama Bin Laden, A character created by the CIA, and the world's Hide And Seek Champion 2001-2011. -Tommythemadartist
The fucking Chi-Com's jump with joy, they're underground complexes are now totally and completely safe from us and they can continue with the development of their mega-bombs and continue to increase the number of accurate ICBM's, courtesy of Bill "Motherfucker" Clinton.
#2. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
Thomas D'Agostino, the nuclear administration's chief, called the bomb's elimination a "significant milestone."
-Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
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