A near-disaster at a federal nuclear weapons laboratory takes a hidden toll...

[Cray]

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/06/near-disaster-federal-nuclear-weapons-laboratory-takes-hidden-toll-america-s-arsenal

Repeated safety lapses hobble Los Alamos National Laboratory’s work on the cores of U.S. nuclear warheads

Technicians at the government’s Los Alamos National Laboratory settled on what seemed like a surefire way to win praise from their bosses in August 2011: In a hi-tech testing and manufacturing building pivotal to sustaining America’s nuclear arsenal, they gathered eight rods painstakingly crafted out of plutonium, and positioned them side-by-side on a table to photograph how nice they looked.

At many jobs, this would be innocent bragging. But plutonium is the unstable, radioactive, man-made fuel of a nuclear explosion, and it isn’t amenable to showboating. When too much is put in one place, it becomes “critical” and begins to fission uncontrollably, spontaneously sparking a nuclear chain reaction, which releases energy and generates a deadly burst of radiation.

The resulting blue glow — known as Cherenkov radiation — has accidentally and abruptly flashed at least 60 times since the dawn of the nuclear age, signaling an instantaneous nuclear charge and causing a total of 21 agonizing deaths. So keeping bits of plutonium far apart is one of the bedrock rules that those working on the nuclear arsenal are supposed to follow to prevent workplace accidents. It’s Physics 101 for nuclear scientists, but has sometimes been ignored at Los Alamos.

Dear god...:wtf:

 

[skeptic_SA]

If this is what they do in the USA where IQ's average 100. I can't wait for Zupta Nuclear to be set up in SA with our <65 IQ workforce.

 

[scudsucker]

The reason the IQ average in the USA is 100 is that the IQ tests are designed for Americans.

The reason that the purported average IQ in South Africa is not 100 is that the IQ tests are designed for Americans.

It would be great if all you racists stopped this IQ nonsense.

 

[azbob]

The reason the IQ average in the USA is 100 is that the IQ tests are designed for Americans.

The reason that the purported average IQ in South Africa is not 100 is that the IQ tests are designed for Americans.

It would be great if all you racists stopped this IQ nonsense.

The problem is that they assume themselves to be of the higher IQ.

 

[skeptic_SA]

The reason the IQ average in the USA is 100 is that the IQ tests are designed for Americans.

The reason that the purported average IQ in South Africa is not 100 is that the IQ tests are designed for Americans.

It would be great if all you racists stopped this IQ nonsense.

Yeah No its a fallacy. http://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/news/mathematics--no-longer-compulsory-10117689

 

[Cray]

If this is what they do in the USA where IQ's average 100. I can't wait for Zupta Nuclear to be set up in SA with our <65 IQ workforce.

Not a supporter of the whole Nuclear plan but to be fair the lab in the article was making cores for Nuclear weapons, something even Zuma is not stupid enough to get involved in.

 

[Sl8er]

The problem is that they assume themselves to be of the higher IQ.

 

[The_Librarian]

Fascinating.

So will this prompt another Cold War era?

 

[OrbitalDawn]

Good grief. :wtf:

 

[HavocXphere]

lol - don't even need to click on link to tell you that's horsesht.

That looks like maybe 1kg of plutonium & judging by the finish not particularly high grade stuff either. Even weapons grade plutonium you'd need a lot more to cause any excitement.

Sure maybe some tech got a bit more of a tan than is good for him, but portraying this as serious drama (if accurately represented which I doubt) is just plain wrong

 

[Cray]

lol - don't even need to click on link to tell you that's horsesht

That looks like maybe 1kg of plutonium & judging by the finish not particularly high grade stuff either. Even weapons grade plutonium you'd need a lot more to cause any excitement.

Sure maybe some tech got a bit more of a tan than is good for him, but portraying this as serious drama (if accurately represented which I doubt) is just plain wrong

If you had read the article...

but officials internally described what happened as the most dangerous nuclear-related incident at that facility in years

If you want to refute that with actual facts then go ahead but if you aren't going to even bother to read the article why should we lend any credence to your opinion?

Another source that re-iterates the problem...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/safety-lapses-undermine-nuclear-warhead-work-at-los-alamos/2017/06/17/87f051ee-510d-11e7-b064-828ba60fbb98_story.html

ome of the reports obtained by the Center for Public Integrity described flimsy workplace safety policies that left workers ignorant of proper procedures as well as incidents where plutonium was packed hundreds of times into dangerously close quarters or without the shielding needed to block a serious accident. The safety risks at the Los Alamos plutonium facility, which is known as PF-4, were alarmingly highlighted in August 2011, when a “criticality accident,” as it’s known, was narrowly averted, one of several factors prompting many safety officials there to quit

Rods of plutonium placed precariously close for the purpose of taking this 2011 photo. The error caused a multiyear production setback. ( NNSA)

 

[mfumbesi]

Sweet mother of god.