#NUCLEAR TIME BOMB SERIES#
intercontinental missiles, set up a series of high-altitude weapons tests called Project Fishbowl (itself part of the larger Operation Dominic) to find out for themselves what happens when nuclear weapons are detonated in space. The U.S., worried that a Soviet nuclear bomb detonated in space could damage or destroy U.S. However, in late 1961 political pressures internal to the USSR forced Khrushchev to break the moratorium, and the Soviets began testing once again. Under external political pressure, the U.S. In 1958, the Soviet Union called for a ban on atmospheric tests of nuclear weapons, and went so far as to unilaterally stop such testing. Its immediate effects were felt for thousands of kilometers, but it would also have a far-reaching aftermath that still touches us today. Designated Starfish Prime, it was part of a dangerous series of high-altitude nuclear bomb tests at the height of the Cold War. The quickest way to get GE Hitachi’s attention would be for residents to demand that the reactor be shut down permanently unless its bomb-grade fuel is removed by next year.Ībsent such pressure, the Bay Area can only hope that the next break-in at Sunol does not lead to a mushroom cloud.Īlan Kuperman is the coordinator of the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Project at the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs.On J50 years ago today - the United States detonated a nuclear weapon high above the Pacific Ocean. It is time for Californians to end this hazard. The break-in was resolved without incident, and the suspects were detained, but we may not be so lucky next time. Last year, two intruders jumped the site’s security fence. Meanwhile, the danger of nuclear terrorism hovers over the Bay Area. The government refuses to provide safer fuel until the company pays to remove the dangerous batch. Department of Energy told GE Hitachi that funding will not be available for fuel conversion in fiscal year 2020. GE Hitachi appears content to put us all at risk by using unnecessary bomb-grade uranium until someone else funds its removal. Unfortunately, such responsible company stewardship is absent at Sunol. Read more about our transparency and ethics policies Nuclear Regulatory Commission offered praise for “federal and state agencies working well together to ensure the safe and secure use of radioactive materials.”
government worked with the company to remove the bomb-grade material. The company agreed to pay the government to provide interim storage until a commercial nuclear-waste repository can open.
government is prohibited from accepting commercial nuclear waste, but it can grant a temporary “national security exemption” if the customer pays, which GE Hitachi reportedly refuses to do.Ī similar problem was overcome in 2010 for a facility near San Diego owned by General Atomics. The main obstacle appears to be who would pay to remove and store the material securely. Neither the company nor the government will say. So, why does the GE Hitachi reactor still use weapons-grade uranium? government is so worried about highly enriched uranium that it has converted reactors possessing as little as 2 pounds of it. Eight years ago, the National Academy of Sciences reported that “suitable fuel has been identified.” The U.S. There is no technical obstacle to converting the reactor to the safer fuel and removing the bomb-grade stuff to a high-security government facility. Since then, all of the 23 civilian reactors able to convert to the safer fuel either have done so or have shut down - except the GE Hitachi reactor. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ordered all such reactors it oversees, including this one, to convert to low-enriched uranium fuel, which is unsuitable for nuclear weapons. But this reactor contains at least 7 pounds of highly enriched uranium, the same material used in the Hiroshima bomb.įor a civilian facility in the age of violent extremism, this is extraordinary.Īs far back as 1986, the U.S. Like facilities at some universities, the reactor’s main activity is neutron radiography, which enables clients to look inside objects without destroying them.
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