New Scientist US nuclear power plants vulnerable to attack - News
16 April 2005New Scientist US nuclear power plants vulnerable to attack - News: "a report by the National Academy of Sciences argues that terrorist attacks on these facilities could result in lethal radioactive fallout.
A committee of 15 leading scientists from universities, research institutes and consultancies studied nuclear waste stored in cooling ponds at 103 US reactors. In its report, released publicly on 6 April, the committee argues that the cooling ponds in which spent radioactive fuel is kept could be severely damaged by aircraft, high-powered weapons or explosives.
If the water drained from the cooling ponds, the zirconium alloy fuel cladding would overheat and burst into flames. This 'could release large quantities of radioactive material into the environment', the report concludes. Committee chair Louis Lanzerotti of the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark says, 'The committee identified several terrorist attack scenarios that could have potentially severe consequences.'
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A committee of 15 leading scientists from universities, research institutes and consultancies studied nuclear waste stored in cooling ponds at 103 US reactors. In its report, released publicly on 6 April, the committee argues that the cooling ponds in which spent radioactive fuel is kept could be severely damaged by aircraft, high-powered weapons or explosives.
If the water drained from the cooling ponds, the zirconium alloy fuel cladding would overheat and burst into flames. This 'could release large quantities of radioactive material into the environment', the report concludes. Committee chair Louis Lanzerotti of the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark says, 'The committee identified several terrorist attack scenarios that could have potentially severe consequences.'
"
posted by Greta Jane at Thursday, April 14, 2005
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