International Nuclear Watch & Discussion

rsingh · Post by **rsingh** » 19 Aug 2016 21:34

Gerard wrote:China’s Perceptions of India as a Nuclear Weapons Power

Useless article. It assumes that there is no threat to India from China. Chinese so called scholars at their best.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 09 Sep 2016 07:05

North Korea conducts fifth nuclear test as regime celebrates national holiday

M5.3 Explosion - 19km ENE of Sungjibaegam, North Korea

North Korea blast measured at least 20 to 30 kilotons: analyst

"That's the largest DPRK test to date, 20-30kt, at least. Not a happy day," Jeffrey Lewis of the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies told Reuters

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 09 Sep 2016 07:44

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37314927
North Korea nuclear test suspected after 'artificial' quake

Hydrogen claims
North Korea analyst Jeffrey Lewis, at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in the US, told Reuters the size of Friday's tremor indicated a device with a 20 to 30 kilotonne yield.If confirmed, that would be the North's largest device to date.North Korea is banned by UN sanctions from any tests of nuclear or missile technology.But in recent months it has conducted a series of ballistic missile launches and has threatened to carry out nuclear attacks on its enemies.Its last nuclear test, in January, was purported to be of a hydrogen bomb, but that claim has not been confirmed.

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 09 Sep 2016 07:44

wtf. we should test now. this is ridiculous.

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 09 Sep 2016 08:24

RoyG wrote:wtf. we should test now. this is ridiculous.

NoKo has nothing to lose. They will test at will since sanctions do not matter to that regime.

I wonder if NoKo tests will light a fire under Baki Musharraf and they'll try and "explode" 6 Atim bum soon. It'll be interesting to see where they'll test this time though.

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 09 Sep 2016 09:22

All tests by NK should be seen as validation tests for China.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 09 Sep 2016 13:36

"C'mon (Kim) Baby Light my fire,light my fire.....!
The Chinese "opposition" must be taken with a handful of radioactive salt!

North Korea nuclear test live: China voices opposition as Kim Jong-un's regime claims major weapons advance
The latest updates as North Korea tests nuclear warhead with massive explosion

North Korea says it has conducted its latest major nuclear test and claims to have the capabilities to mount a warhead on ballistic missiles. Here are the latest updates:

The test was the country's fifth and largest so far
It caused an 'artificial' magnitude 5 earthquake
The 10 kilotonne explosion was twice as powerful as that carried out in January
It has been compared to the Hiroshima blast of 1945
Neighbouring South Korea has accused the North of 'fanatic recklessness'
China has also expressed its opposition

North Korea claims to have conducted a “higher level” explosion of a nuclear warhead in a test that will allow it to finally build an array of stronger, smaller and lighter nuclear weapons.

It is Pyongyang's fifth atomic test and the second in eight months, generating a magnitute 5 earthquake sparking alarm in neighbouring South Korea and around the world.

South Korea's president called the detonation, which Seoul estimated as the North's biggest-ever explosive yield, an act of “fanatic recklessness.”

While the North is known to have a small stockpile of nuclear warheads, experts are divided about its ability to mount them on a working missile delivery system that could allow a long-range strike.

North Korea claims success in fifth and biggest nuclear test
If minaturisation has been achieved, it will raise serious concern over the capability of the totalitarian government to realise years of threats aimed at the US and other enemies.

North Korea's state media agency said the test had “finally examined and confirmed the structure and specific features of movement of (a) nuclear warhead that has been standardised to be able to be mounted on strategic ballistic rockets", adding: “The standardisation of the nuclear warhead will enable (North Korea) to produce at will and as many as it wants a variety of smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear warheads of higher strike power."

The claims by Kim Jong-un's government have not been verified but China, the country's main diplomatic ally, cautioned against "adding fuel to the flames" in state-run media.

Park Geun-hye, the South Korean President, spoke with Barack Obama over the test on Friday morning and said her government would increase pressure on its neighbour to stop violating international sanctions.

South Korea's weather agency said the explosive yield of the North Korean blast would have been 10 to 12 kilotons, or 70 to 80 percent of the force of the 15-kiloton atomic bomb the United States dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945.

PS:Watch the desperate Paki generals all wanting to emulate Comrade Kim.Their pathetic measures to internationalise the Kashmir issue has come a cropper with Mr.Modi's great pro-active campaign to nail the TSP to the wall.We cannot rule out a desperate Pak trying to win international sympathy in an attempt to also blackmail the global community by further tests,as if N-war is likely to break out in the subcontinent.India should lobby the international community of Pak being an N-rogue state that is also the HQ of international Islamic terroism,and persuade it to impose sanctions upon Pak unless its N-capability is tamed.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 12 Sep 2016 04:51

South Korea threatens to reduce Pyongyang 'to ashes'

"Every Pyongyang district, particularly where the North Korean leadership is possibly hidden, will be completely destroyed by ballistic missiles and high-explosive shells as soon as the North shows any signs of using a nuclear weapon", a source in the South Korean military told the Yonhap news agency.

"In other words, the North's capital city will be reduced to ashes and removed from the map", the source said.

Neshant · Post by **Neshant** » 12 Sep 2016 09:40

North Korea's nuclearization is part of China's plan to force Japan to declare itself a nuclear power thereby diluting Japan's need for the US as a nuclear ally.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 13 Sep 2016 21:38

'It's not funny anymore' - this graphic shows the reach of North Korea's ballistic missiles

http://www.businessinsider.in/Its-not-f ... 300774.cms

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 13 Sep 2016 21:41

Hope they can test a small TN device , that would be like icing on the cake for Baby Kim ......and Red Faces every where

May be enough U235 or Pu to make 100 Bum will be good to deter and keep NoKo safe

This has already turned into China-US war of words with US blaming China for Noko and China doing vice-verse

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 14 Sep 2016 02:50

Neshant wrote:North Korea's nuclearization is part of China's plan to force Japan to declare itself a nuclear power thereby diluting Japan's need for the US as a nuclear ally.

IMHO we give the big lizard's strategic thinking more credit than it deserves.

The Chinese probably facilitated NoKo nuclearization in order to tie Japan into a regional fissile material reduction arrangement. NoKo would have given up Plutonium production and Uranium enrichment along with Japan, SoKo, Vietnam. Japanese Pu stocks would have been removed to USA along with NoKo's. One big happy regional denuclearization. Peace. Kumbaya. Love. And China with the only arsenal around. No breakout ability for Japan. Same with India and Pakistan. South Asian Zone of Peace etc.

It simply didn't work out that way. The Big Lizard is now faced with big problem. Those SoKo ballistic missiles are in need of a more potent warhead. And a Japanese decision to go nuclear will result in the rapid development of an arsenal that is quantitatively and qualitatively more advanced than the Chinese one.

Avarachan · Post by **Avarachan** » 16 Sep 2016 21:44

^^. Interesting post.

Bheeshma · Post by **Bheeshma** » 16 Sep 2016 22:01

The japanese and soko may already have nuke warheads courtesy of unkil. All this does is make sure THAAD is deployed in SoKo and Japan. Once Indian BMD ohase-2 comes up china will be running to denounce all BMD's as cause of instability in the region.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 17 Sep 2016 16:31

Colin Powell admits existence of Israeli nukes, but State Dept stays silent

“Anyway, Iranians can’t use one if they finally make one,” Powell wrote to Leeds on March 3, 2015, regarding the ongoing talks about Tehran’s nuclear program. “The boys in Tehran know Israel has 200, all targeted on Tehran, and we have thousands. As [Iranian President Mahmoudin Ahmedinejad said], ‘What would we do with one, polish it?’ I have spoken publicly about both [North Korea] and Iran. We’ll blow up the only thing they care about—regime survival. Where, how would they even test one?”

Neshant · Post by **Neshant** » 19 Sep 2016 11:48

One thing is for sure. The number of nuclear powers in the world is set to grow not shrink over the years.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 19 Sep 2016 12:51

There might be a dozen N weapon states before the middle of the next decade

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 08 Oct 2016 17:01

USA tests two dummy B61 nuclear bombs in Nevada Desert

In collaboration with the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command, NNSA conducted successful surveillance flight tests using joint test assemblies (JTA) of the B61-7 and B61-11 last month. Analysis and flight recorder data from the tests indicate that both were successful.

JTAs are mock weapons containing sensors and instrumentation that allow scientists and engineers from national laboratories to assess their performance. The assemblies contain no nuclear materials and are not capable of nuclear yield. These assemblies also include a flight recorder that stores bomb performance data for each test.

The primary objective of flight testing is to obtain reliability, accuracy, and performance data under operationally representative conditions. Such testing is part of the qualification process of current alterations and life extension programs for weapon systems. NNSA scientists and engineers use data from these tests in computer simulations developed by Sandia National Laboratories to evaluate the weapon systems’ reliability and to verify that they are functioning as designed.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 26 Oct 2016 07:28

Meanwhile - In USA - First new nuclear power reactor in 20 years begins commercial operation.
* Watts Bar 2 - now has entered commercial operation - Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) announced.
Link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/rodadams/20 ... d2e9f722c9

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 26 Oct 2016 12:29

Pakis p*ssing in their pants what?!

First of all this is a deliberate attempt by the Pakis to draw attention towards India and away from their own N-proliferation and recent threat to annhilate Israel within 12 minutes! It also underscores the fact that India's N-capability cannot be underestimated by anyone,including Pak.This may be a cheap trick to justify Pak's own massive N-warhead production the highest in the world.One hopes however that their own studies will make them less boaistful about their capabilities and realsis that India is a nuclear giant,independent upon firang powers while Pak is heavily dependent upon the PRC.Pak's constant barking about its tactical nukes would certainly have been taken into account by Indian strat. planners and the nuclear establishment nd one is sure that ample measures to checkmate Pak have been taken,with the acquisition of S-400s being the first.

http://www.defencenews.in/article/%E2%8 ... :_Pakistan

‘India has capacity to produce hundreds of new Nuclear Bombs’ :: Pakistan
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Tuesday, October 25, 2016
By: DAWN
A new study indicates that India has sufficient material and the technical capacity to produce between 356 and 492 nuclear bombs.

The study titled ‘Indian Unsafeguarded Nuclear Program’ which was published by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) and was co-authored by four nuclear scholars, unveils a new and comprehensive assessment of India’s nuclear weapon capacity The launch of the study at the ISSI on Monday was attended by foreign diplomats, scholars, journalists and students.

Speaking at the event, ISSI Board of Governors Chairman Ambassador Khalid Mahmood said the book gives a fresh perspective on India’s unsafeguarded nuclear program, will be read with interest around the world and will benefit scholars and diplomats alike.

An internationally known physicist and a member of the International Panel on Fissile Materials Dr A.H Nayyar said the book was a significant addition to the existing material on the size, history and capacity of India’s nuclear program. He also highlighted a number of weaknesses and flaws in the book and suggested the ambiguities be removed in the next edition.

Former Chairman Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Ansar Pervez said the research breaks new ground by providing officials, researchers, scholars and students with new insight into India’s nuclear weapon making capacity.

Study reveals India has largest, oldest unsafeguarded nuclear programme in developing world

He said that in terms of detail, depth, analysis and the use of information from primary sources, the research is far superior to several studies on the Indian nuclear program and carefully blends social science perspective with technical details.

Mr Pervez added that the book will also expand international awareness, policy discourse and academic debate on this secretive and unsafeguarded program.

ISSI’s Dr Naeem Salik then chaired a discussion between the authors and called the study a “pioneering effort”. The four authors – including Adeela Azam, Ahmed Khan, Mohammad Ali and Sameer Khan- said that the purpose of the study was to provide an understanding of the true history, size, extent and capabilities of the different aspects of the complex Indian nuclear program which New Delhi has kept outside the International Atomic Agency safeguards.

The authors said the study contains evidence that India has the largest and oldest unsafeguarded nuclear programme in the developing world and among the states not party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

They said that member states of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) should consider the large and swiftly expanding Indian nuclear bomb capacity when dealing with India’s NSG membership and ensure that Indian membership of this export control arrangement does not, in any way, help India expand and accelerate its nuclear weapons program.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 10 Dec 2016 13:00

The Recent Declassification of India's Secret 'Long Telegram' Shows Why It Went Nuclear

The nuclear specter of China has always been India's overwhelming consideration.
Vivek Prahladan
December 9, 2016
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“The main argument in favor of India going nuclear is the Chinese threat” — L.K. Jha (Secretary to Prime Minister) March 5, 1967
“A nuclear stand-off with China is essential as soon as possible” — P.N. Haksar (Secretary to Prime Minister) 1968

The Counsel of History
Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar recently made a controversial “personal” comment that perhaps India must revisit its no first-use nuclear policy. However, the only available document on Indian nuclear policy has been the “Draft Nuclear Doctrine,” which has fostered perpetual speculation on the vector and valences of Indian strategic doctrine. We have had little historical perspective on how Indian doctrine has absorbed Chinese and Pakistan nuclear threats ever since India carried out its first underground nuclear test — “Smiling Buddha” — in May 1974. There is still no consensus on what the historical reasons were for India to cross the no-bomb line or what internal discussions were taking place between the scientists and the prime minister’s office. However, newly declassified documents from the prime minister’s office, which include letters between the prime minister’s office and the Department of Atomic Energy, as well as correspondence between the prime minister and scientists help establish the specific considerations that went into the making of India’s nuclear doctrine. It revises arguments such as those of George Perkovich, that, in the second half of the sixties, “the (Indian) scientists acted without benefit of a national security strategy or requirement.” The documents reveal disquiet among India’s strategists about China’s repeated nuclear tests from 1964 onwards.
India’s “Long Telegram” and Crossing the No-Bomb Line
Perhaps the single most important document for establishing the evolving history of India’s nuclear weapons policy comes from P.N. Haksar, Secretary to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi that may be dated to 1968. The note is titled “Need for India In a Changing World to Reassess her National Interest and Foreign policy.”
The revealing document tends to defy most assumptions held about India’s nuclear policy regarding the level of “stand-off capability” that was being considered in the Prime Minister Secretariat. P.N Haskar wrote:
i. the making of nuclear arms in the shape of medium range (2,000-3,000 miles) capable, from sites within India’s frontiers, of striking with success not only a few chosen targets in Tibet but of ranging as far afield as the industrial heart of China in Manchuria and in the great river valleys south of it which include some of her principal industries and urban centers of population
ii. The development simultaneously of submarines driven by nuclear power fitted out to carry nuclear missiles
iii. This nuclear arms program should be based on adequate stockpiling of those sensitive instruments and machinery…. which will be difficult to import from abroad increasingly
Haksar distinguished between the role of nuclear India as opposed to other nuclear powers. Haksar also reveals his thought that India’s nuclear ambition should be clearly communicated with the United States at a relevant time. The nuclear specter of China remained the overwhelming consideration. Haksar seemed to appreciate nuclear balancing in Europe and wrote of India’s “own security require that she becomes a nuclear power to establish a genuine balance of power with China.”

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 02 Jan 2017 20:17

Pakistani nuclear forces, 2016

Pakistan’s Evolving Nuclear Weapons Infrastructure

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 09 Jan 2017 22:56

Pakistan fires 'first submarine-launched nuclear-capable missile'

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan fired its first submarine-launched cruise missile on Monday, the military said, a show of force for a country that sees its missile development as a deterrent against arch-foe India. The launch of the nuclear-capable Babur-3 missile, which has a range of 450 km (280 miles) and was fired from an undisclosed location in the Indian Ocean, is likely to heighten long-running tension between India and Pakistan.

ricky_v · Post by **ricky_v** » 11 Jan 2017 19:03

http://thebulletin.org/global-nuclear-p ... =hootsuite
Interactive site regarding nuclear site constructions from 1951-2017

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 22 Jan 2017 18:12

Britain's May faces pressure after reports of Trident test malfunction

The paper quoted an unnamed senior naval source as saying the missile may have veered off in the wrong direction towards the American mainland when it was fired off the coast of Florida.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 03 Feb 2017 23:56

https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/ ... whohaswhat

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 14 Feb 2017 08:24

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 21 Feb 2017 01:23

Radioactive Iodine over Europe first measured in Finnmark

U.S. AIR FORCE DEPLOYS WC-135 NUCLEAR SNIFFER AIRCRAFT TO UK AS SPIKE OF RADIOACTIVE IODINE LEVELS IS DETECTED IN EUROPE

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 09 Mar 2017 04:13

US nuclear triad too old to fight Russians says Pentagon

There are “scheduled realities” to the US nuclear weapon systems, US Air Force General Paul Selva, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday. Ohio-class submarines, Minuteman III ballistic missiles and B-52 strategic bombers are all rapidly approaching the end of their useful lifespan, according to Selva and three other senior officers testifying.

“Our nuclear deterrent is nearing a crossroads,” Selva said. “We are now at a point where we must concurrently modernize the entire nuclear triad and the infrastructure that enables its effectiveness.”

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 15 Apr 2017 04:09

US successfully tests new nuclear gravity bomb

The NNSA and the US Air Force completed the first qualification flight test of the B61-12 gravity nuclear bomb on March 14 at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, the agency announced on Thursday

arun · Post by **arun** » 09 May 2017 18:43

X Posted.

North Korea seems to be mighty pissed off with the friend Peoples Republic of China for two articles that appeared in PRC Communists Party and Government controlled mouthpieces, Peoples Daily and Global Times.

Article datelined May 4, Juche 106, in Rodong Sinmun which is described as the official organ of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

May. 5, Juche 106 (2017) Friday

Reckless Remarks Undermining DPRK-China Relations Should Be Stopped

A string of absurd and reckless remarks are now heard from big neighboring countries, perhaps frightened at the U.S. blackmail and war racket, every day only to render the acute situation of the Korean peninsula more strained.

The People's Daily and the Global Times, widely known as media speaking for the official stand of the Chinese party and government, have recently carried commentaries asserting that the DPRK's access to nukes poses a threat to the national interests of China. They shifted the blame for the deteriorated relations between the DPRK and China onto the DPRK and raised lame excuses for the base acts of dancing to the tune of the U.S.

Those commentaries claimed that the DPRK poses a threat to "the security in the northeastern region of China" by conducting nuclear tests less than 100 km away from its border with China. They even talked rubbish that the DPRK strains the situation in Northeast Asia and "offers the U.S. excuses for deploying more strategic assets" in the region.

Not content with such paradox, the commentaries asserted that to remain averse to the DPRK's access to nukes is to preserve interests common to the U.S. and China, calling for slapping harsher sanctions against the DPRK in order to avert a war which would bring danger to China.

The newspapers, even claiming China holds the initiative in handling the DPRK-China relations, made no scruple of letting out a string of provocative remarks urging the DPRK to choose one among such options if it doesn't want military confrontation with China--"whether to face protracted isolation or to preserve national security by making a U-turn" and whether to break Sino-DPRK friendship or to dismantle its nukes.

This is just a wanton violation of the independent and legitimate rights, dignity and supreme interests of the DPRK and, furthermore, constitutes an undisguised threat to an honest-minded neighboring country which has a long history and tradition of friendship.

China is hyping up "damage caused by the DPRK's nuclear tests" in its three northeastern provinces. This only reveals the ulterior purpose sought by it, being displeased with the DPRK's rapid development of nukes.

As far as "violation of national interests" oft-repeated by politicians and media persons of China is concerned, it is just the issue that the DPRK should rather talk much about.

It is just the DPRK whose strategic interests have been repeatedly violated due to insincerity and betrayal on the part of its partner, not China at all.

Some theorists of China are spouting a load of nonsense that the DPRK's access to nukes strains the situation in Northeast Asia and offers the U.S. an excuse for beefing up its strategic assets in the region. But the U.S. had activated its strategy for dominating Asia-Pacific long before the DPRK had access to nukes, and its primary target is just China.

China should acknowledge in an honest manner that the DPRK has just contributed to protecting peace and security of China, foiling the U.S. scheme for aggression by waging a hard fight in the frontline of the showdown with the U.S. for more than seven decades, and thank the DPRK for it.

Some ignorant politicians and media persons of China daringly assert that the traditional relations of the DPRK-China friendship were in line with the interests of each county in the past. They are advised to clearly understand the essence of history before opening their mouth.

Their call for not only slapping stricter sanctions but also not ruling out a military intervention if the DPRK refuses to abandon its nuclear program is no more than an extremely ego-driven theory based on big-power chauvinism that not only the strategic interests but also the dignity and vital rights of the DPRK should be sacrificed for the interests of China.

One must clearly understand that the DPRK's line of access to nukes for the existence and development of the country can neither be changed nor shaken and that the DPRK will never beg for the maintenance of friendship with China, risking its nuclear program which is as precious as its own life, no matter how valuable the friendship is.

The DPRK, which has already become one of the most powerful nuclear weapons state, does not feel the need to think over how many options it has now.

China should no longer try to test the limits of the DPRK's patience but make proper strategic option, facing up to the situation.

China had better ponder over the grave consequences to be entailed by its reckless act of chopping down the pillar of the DPRK-China relations.

Kim Chol

From here:

Rodong Sinmun

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 10 May 2017 14:40

US N-plant accident Major crisis!
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 26866.html

nuclear emergency: Workers take cover at 'most toxic place in America' after tunnel collapse
The site was previously described by nuclear experts as 'an underground Chernobyl waiting to happen'

Clark Mindock New York 17 hours ago
A collapse at a large nuclear storage facility in Washington has been reported.

BBC asks 'who is to blame' after van swerves into cyclist
Hundreds of workers have been forced to "take cover" after a tunnel in a nuclear finishing plant collapsed in Washington state.

Following the incident Tuesday morning, which a spokesperson told the Independent is still being investigated, a manager sent a message to workers telling them to “secure ventilation in your building” and to “refrain from eating or drinking.” The US Department of Energy activated its Emergency Operations Center Tuesday following the collapse. Some workers were reportedly told to evacuate while others were told to shelter-in-place as officials investigated the severity of the situation.

"The Department of Energy informed us this morning that a tunnel was breached that was used to bury radioactive waste from the production of plutonium at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation," Governor Jay Inslee said in a statement. He said that the White House had reached out to his office as well.
READ MORE
Hanford nuclear site emergency: All you need to know
"This is a serious situation, and ensuring the safety of the workers and the community is the top priority," Mr Inslee said. "Our understanding is that the site went into immediate lock down, in which workers were told to seek shelter, and all access to the area has been closed."

A spokesperson for the Hanford site said during a live broadcast that the tunnel collapse was discovered by workers on patrol in the area.

"Crews noticed that a portion of that tunnel had fallen," Destry Henderson, the spokesperson, said, emphasizing that researchers had not found spilled or leaked radioactive materials. "The roof had caved in about a 20 foot section of that tunnel."

The tunnel reportedly contained highly contaminated materials including nuclear waste trains that are used to transport radioactive fuel rods. A spokesperson said that there was no evidence to suggest that radioactive materials had been released and that all of the workers in the area were accounted for. An official tally of those with orders to shelter-in-place was not immediately available, a spokesperson said but there were no reported injuries.

The dark area underneath the tall orange flag is the collapse site – a hole left by the tunnel collapse.
10:04 PM - 9 May 2017

“The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Richland Operations Office activated the Hanford Emergency Operations Center at 8:26 a.m,” the Department of Energy said in an earlier statement. “There are concerns about subsidence in the soil covering railroad tunnels near a former chemical processing facility. The tunnels contain contaminated materials.”

The nuclear site, located in the city of Hanford, is a former plutonium production site that was used to help develop the American nuclear arsenal 70 years ago. More recently, however, a private contractor hired by the Department of Energy is working on a $110 billion project to clean up 56 million gallons of chemical and nuclear waste stored in as many as 177 underground tanks there.

Before the Tuesday collapse, those tanks were reportedly leaking toxic and radioactive vapours and chemicals that have been linked to cancer, brain damage, and lung damage. There were at least 61 workers exposed to those deadly vapours last year. Experts have called the location "the most toxic place in America" and "an underground Chernobyl waiting to happen."

Cleaning up the Hanford nuclear site has been a priority for the Energy Department for years. The site hasn't produced plutonium since 1980 and a cleanup program was started there in 1989. The area has since been the subject of controversy and has been the target of a lawsuit filed by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson last year who contended that the Energy Department and contractor Washington River Protection Solutions had allowed the release of vapours from underground nuclear waste tanks that pose a serious health risk to workers.

Hanford is a small agricultural community in south-central Washington about 200 miles from Seattle

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 14 May 2017 18:11

How US nuclear force modernization is undermining strategic stability: The burst-height compensating super-fuze

Under the cover of an otherwise legitimate life-extension of the W76 warhead, the Navy has quietly added a new super-fuze to the warhead that dramatically increases the ability of the Navy to destroy hard targets in Russia and other adversaries.

In a new article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Matthew McKinzie from NRDC, Theodore A. Postol from MIT, and I describe the impact of the super-fuze on the targeting capability of the US SSBN force and how it might effect strategic stability.

The new super-fuze dramatically increases the capability of the W76 warhead to destroy hard targets, such as Russian ICBM silos.

We estimate that the super-fuze capability is now operational on all nuclear warheads deployed on the Navy’s Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines. The new fuze has also been installed on warheads on British SSBN.

“As a consequence, the US submarine force today is much more capable than it was previously against hardened targets such as Russian ICBM silos. A decade ago, only about 20 percent of US submarine warheads had hard-target kill capability; today they all do.”

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 14 May 2017 18:17

North Korea’s Missile in New Test Would Have 4,500 km Range

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 28 Jun 2017 01:18

There are reports (scientifically credible) - that North Korea now clearly has the ability to produce tritium internally. Tritium is a basic element for making hydrogen bombs... although ability to produce tritium is *much* easier than weaponize a H-bomb.

- Commercial satellite imagery shows more tritium production facility near an old facility.
- Over last year NK was trying to market Li-6 (one of the key ingredients for making tritium) etc.

Above is according to Prof. Hecker, (a Standford professor I mentioned in Brf couple of times -- he has visited NK a few times -- only western scientist in recent years - and NK has shown him extracted Pu etc) speaking in Seoul today.

ricky_v · Post by **ricky_v** » 08 Jul 2017 15:39

http://www.realcleardefense.com/article ... qus_thread

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — More than 120 countries approved the first-ever treaty to ban nuclear weapons Friday at a U.N. meeting boycotted by all nuclear-armed nations.

It will be opened for signatures in September and come into force when 50 countries have ratified it, she said.

The treaty requires of all ratifying countries “never under any circumstances to develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.”

It also bans any transfer or use of nuclear weapons or nuclear explosive devices — and the threat to use such weapons.

Retired British Royal Navy Cmdr. Rob Green, who flew nuclear strike aircraft and is now co-director of the Peace Foundation’s Disarmament and Security Center, said earlier this week that “the heart of this treaty” is the prohibition on threatening to use nuclear weapons.

Chinmay · Post by **Chinmay** » 08 Jul 2017 18:17

ricky_v wrote:http://www.realcleardefense.com/article ... qus_thread

SNIP

This treaty means square root of f-all as the most powerful nations in the world have boycotted it.

Only good for photo ops

Avarachan · Post by **Avarachan** » 10 Aug 2017 07:17

This is an interesting, long article regarding the gutting of the U.S. Department of Energy (which handles both nuclear energy and the development of nuclear weapons). I recommend taking the reporter's pronouncements with a pinch of salt, but he's definitely on to something.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/07 ... hael-lewis

There is a telling example of this Trumpian impulse—the desire not to know—in a small D.O.E. program that goes by its acronym, ARPA-E. ARPA-E was conceived during the George W. Bush administration as an energy equivalent of DARPA—the Defense Department’s research-grant program that had funded the creation of G.P.S. and the Internet, among other things. Even in the D.O.E. budget the program was trivial—$300 million a year. It made small grants to researchers who had scientifically plausible, wildly creative ideas that might change the world. If you thought you could make water from sunlight, or genetically engineer some bug so that it eats electrons and craps oil, or create a building material that becomes cooler on the inside as it grows hotter on the outside, ARPA-E was your place. More to the point: your only place. At any given time in America there are lots of seriously smart people with bold ideas that might change life as we know it—it may be the most delightful distinguishing feature of our society. The idea behind ARPA-E was to find the best of these ideas that the free market had declined to finance and make sure they were given a chance. Competition for the grants has been fierce: only two out of every hundred are approved. The people who do the approving come from the energy industry and academia. They do brief tours of duty in government, then return to Intel and Harvard.

The man who ran the place when it opened was Arun Majumdar. He grew up in India, finished at the top of his engineering class, moved to the United States, and became a world-class materials scientist. He now teaches at Stanford University but could walk into any university in America and get a job. Invited to run ARPA-E, he took a leave from teaching, moved to Washington, D.C., and went to work for the D.O.E. “This country embraced me as one of her sons,” he said. “So when someone is calling me to serve, it is hard to say no.” His only demand was that he be allowed to set up the program in a small office down the street from the Department of Energy building. “The feng shui of D.O.E. is really bad,” he explained.

Right away he faced the hostility of right-wing think tanks. The Heritage Foundation even created its own budget plan back in 2011 that eliminated ARPA-E. American politics was alien to the Indian immigrant; he couldn’t fathom the tribal warfare. “Democrat, Republican—what is this?,” as he put it. “Also, why don’t people vote? In India people stand in line in 40 degrees Celsius to vote.” He phoned up the guys who had written the Heritage budget and invited them over to see what they’d be destroying. They invited him to lunch. “They were very gracious,” said Majumdar, “but they didn’t know anything. They were not scientists in any sense. They were ideologues. Their point was: the market should take care of everything. I said, ‘I can tell you that the market does not go into the lab and work on something that might or might not work.’ ”

Present at lunch was a woman who, Majumdar learned, helped to pay the bills at the Heritage Foundation. After he’d explained ARPA-E—and some of the life-changing ideas that the free market had failed to fund in their infancy—she perked up and said, “Are you guys like DARPA?” Yes, he said. “Well, I’m a big fan of DARPA,” she said. It turned out her son had fought in Iraq. His life was saved by a Kevlar vest. The early research to create the Kevlar vest was done by DARPA.

The guys at Heritage declined the invitation to actually visit the D.O.E. and see what ARPA-E was up to. But in their next faux budget they restored the funding for ARPA-E. (The Heritage Foundation did not respond to questions about its relationship with the D.O.E.)

As I drove out of Hanford the Trump administration unveiled its budget for the Department of Energy. ARPA-E had since won the praise of business leaders from Bill Gates to Lee Scott, the former C.E.O. of Walmart, to Fred Smith, the Republican founder of FedEx, who has said that “pound for pound, dollar for dollar, activity for activity, it’s hard to find a more effective thing government has done than ARPA-E.” Trump’s budget eliminates ARPA-E altogether. It also eliminates the spectacularly successful $70 billion loan program. It cuts funding to the national labs in a way that implies the laying off of 6,000 of their people. It eliminates all research on climate change. It halves the funding for work to secure the electrical grid from attack or natural disaster. “All the risks are science-based,” said John MacWilliams when he saw the budget. “You can’t gut the science. If you do, you are hurting the country. If you gut the core competency of the D.O.E., you gut the country.”

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 03 Sep 2017 04:56

North Korea says has developed ‘advanced hydrogen bomb’ that can be fitted on ICBM

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 03 Sep 2017 09:52

North Korea: Tremor detected in sign of possible nuclear test

North Korea shaken by strong tremors, with South's officials reportedly saying it could be a nuclear test

North Korea was struck by strong tremors on Sunday, with the South's officials saying it could be due to a nuclear test.

The USGS reported the first tremor as a 5.6 magnitude, while China's earthquake administration said it detected a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Northeastern North Korea, calling it a "suspected explosion," Reuters reported.

The depth of the first quake was recorded as zero kilometers, the China earthquake administration said, according to Reuters.

The report cited the USGS as saying the first tremor occurred at around 12 noon North Korea time.

China's earthquake administration later said it detected a second quake of magnitude 4.6 at a depth of zero kilometers, Reuters reported.

A South Korean military official told NBC News that the first quake was artificial, while Yonhap reported the military said the first tremor was located near the North's nuclear test site.