Word: plutonium
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
What Washington does know is that the North Koreans have extracted some plutonium -- the raw material for weapons -- from its 5-megawatt nuclear power plant at Yongbyon, but the U.S. does not know exactly how much. Experts think it could be as much as 12kg (26 lbs.), which would be enough for one or two bombs -- if Pyongyang's engineers are able to build them...
...classified Special National Intelligence Estimate does not actually say the North Koreans have a couple of bombs. Rather the report concludes there is a "somewhat better than even" chance that they have one or two. Even so, the Koreans' arsenal is not growing now. In order to obtain more plutonium for bombs, the North Koreans would have to turn off and cool down the reactor so its fuel rods could be removed. Infrared sensors aboard satellites would detect any such action. So far, close scrutiny has not revealed any recent shutdown...
...Korea and Japan. The CIA takes a middle view: that the North Koreans may allow inspection of their seven declared facilities but not the two undeclared ones. The reason, the agency said in the report, was that Pyongyang would want to retain what it already has, whether that is plutonium, a couple of bombs or only the nervous uncertainty of its neighbors...
...dirty way -- by exposing unsuspecting civilians. Over the past month, a frightening array of nuclear experiments have come to light, including large-scale medical tests involving hundreds of patients. A series published in the Albuquerque Tribune detailed one experiment in which 18 people were injected with high concentrations of plutonium, apparently without their full consent. In another test, 800 pregnant women were exposed to radioactive iron in order to investigate its effects on fetal development. The testicles of 67 inmates at an Oregon state prison were exposed to X rays to determine how radiation might alter sperm production...
...conducted more than 200 secret nuclear tests since the 1940s, according to the Department Energy. The department has declassified documents that describe huge U.S. stockpiles of plutonium stored in weapons factories...