X-Message-Number: 20693 Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 12:22:18 -0600 Subject: Re: CryoNet #20653 Nuclear From: Brian A Stewart <> >The true problem is not the reactor, it is the nearby pool where hot spent >fuel rods are storred until short term radio activity is reduced so that >transportation becomes workable. A small van with two tons of high explosive >would suffice to blow up that material. There is always the possibility of an IIRC, aren't such pools generally built into the ground, at least here in the United States? In that case it would be necessary to get the van into the pool, otherwise the explosion would simply pass over the surface of the pool, only eliminating a small amount of water. In addition, it would be very difficult to get an unauthorized van onto the grounds of a nuclear power plant, since they tend to be very heavily guarded. Using an aircraft to hit a target as "small" as a storage pool would also be extremely difficult. The aircraft used in the September 11 attacks had difficulty hitting their targets (one reason I doubt that the White House was a target that day). I have my doubts about nuclear power, but concern over the possibility of terrorist attacks isn't one of them. Brian Brian A. Stewart-- Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A. "To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=20693