U.S. to launch radioactive project -
U.S. to launch radioactive project -: "U.S. to launch radioactive project
6/27/2005 4:00:00 PM GMT
The U.S. plans to produce highly radioactive plutonium 238 for the first time since the Cold War.
The United States is planning to produce plutonium 238, a highly radioactive substance, for the first time since the Cold War, The New York Times reported on Monday.
The paper cited the project manager as saying that most, if not all, of the new plutonium will be used in classified missions.
The official didn’t reveal details of the project, but The Times said the plutonium in the past powered spying devices.
The newspaper also said that Timothy Frazier, chief of radioisotope power systems at the U.S. Energy Department, denied that the secret missions would involve atomic arms, satellites or weapons in space.
"The real reason we're starting production is for national security," Frazier was cited as saying in a recent interview.
Officials at the Energy Department were not available for comment.
The program, which The Times said raised concerns among environmentalists, would generate 330 pounds (150 kg) over 30 years at the Idaho National Laboratory, a sprawling site outside Idaho Falls.
The project could cost $1.5 billion and produce over 50,000 drums of hazardous and radioactive waste, federal officials said.
The new project stirs debate over the risks and the advantages of the deadly material. It is hot enough to melt plastic, but medical experts say that inhaling even a speck can cause lung cancer.
The Times also said that Plutonium 238 is hundreds of times more radioactive than plutonium 239, which is used in atomic weapons.
It added that plutonium 238 doesn’t have a key role in nuclear weapons, but was valued for its steady heat that could be turned into electricity. Nuclear batteries made from it power spacecraft to go where sunlight is too dim to energize solar cells.
Federal and private experts said that the new plutonium would likely power devices for espionage under the sea and on land.
The U.S. last produced plutonium 238 in the 1980s and now depends on old stockpiles or imports from Russia, the newspaper said.
It added that under the deal with Russia, the U.S. couldn’t use the imports, about 35 pounds (16 kg) since the end of the Cold War, for military operations. "
6/27/2005 4:00:00 PM GMT
The U.S. plans to produce highly radioactive plutonium 238 for the first time since the Cold War.
The United States is planning to produce plutonium 238, a highly radioactive substance, for the first time since the Cold War, The New York Times reported on Monday.
The paper cited the project manager as saying that most, if not all, of the new plutonium will be used in classified missions.
The official didn’t reveal details of the project, but The Times said the plutonium in the past powered spying devices.
The newspaper also said that Timothy Frazier, chief of radioisotope power systems at the U.S. Energy Department, denied that the secret missions would involve atomic arms, satellites or weapons in space.
"The real reason we're starting production is for national security," Frazier was cited as saying in a recent interview.
Officials at the Energy Department were not available for comment.
The program, which The Times said raised concerns among environmentalists, would generate 330 pounds (150 kg) over 30 years at the Idaho National Laboratory, a sprawling site outside Idaho Falls.
The project could cost $1.5 billion and produce over 50,000 drums of hazardous and radioactive waste, federal officials said.
The new project stirs debate over the risks and the advantages of the deadly material. It is hot enough to melt plastic, but medical experts say that inhaling even a speck can cause lung cancer.
The Times also said that Plutonium 238 is hundreds of times more radioactive than plutonium 239, which is used in atomic weapons.
It added that plutonium 238 doesn’t have a key role in nuclear weapons, but was valued for its steady heat that could be turned into electricity. Nuclear batteries made from it power spacecraft to go where sunlight is too dim to energize solar cells.
Federal and private experts said that the new plutonium would likely power devices for espionage under the sea and on land.
The U.S. last produced plutonium 238 in the 1980s and now depends on old stockpiles or imports from Russia, the newspaper said.
It added that under the deal with Russia, the U.S. couldn’t use the imports, about 35 pounds (16 kg) since the end of the Cold War, for military operations. "
posted by Greta Jane at Tuesday, June 28, 2005
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home