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30 October 2011

Dismantling the B53 Megadeath Bomb

Pantex Megadeath Eyeball: http://cryptome.org/eyeball/pantex/pantex-eyeball.htm

Cryptome Nuclear Power Plants and WMD series: http://cryptome.org/nppw-series.htm

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/29/141801929/u-s-dismantles-the-biggest-of-its-cold-war-nukes?ft=1&f=1122

U.S. Dismantles The Biggest Of Its Cold War Nukes

October 29, 2011

This past week, the U.S. dismantled the last of its largest nuclear bombs, the B53.

This was a Dr. Strangelove bomb, conjuring up images of armageddon and apocalypse. At the same time, one of the smallest warheads was also removed from the nuclear arsenal.

These are steps the U.S. is taking apart from its arms control agreements with Russia. And thousands more American nuclear weapons are slated for destruction in a process that could take a decade or more.

The B53 was the size of a minivan and weighed 4 1/2 tons. Its destructive power was 600 times that of the Hiroshima bomb dropped on Japan at the end of World War II.

"This is a Cold War relic — there's no continuing need for it. And it shows the direction of our future," says Dan Poneman, the deputy secretary of energy.

The United States built 340 of these huge bombs. Several were tested in the atmosphere in the South Pacific. They were so big that only two could fit in a B-52 bomber. Between 1962 and 1967, there were 24 of them on continuous alert in the air ready to be dropped over the Soviet Union.

This is a Cold War relic — there's no continuing need for it. And it shows the direction of our future.

Those flights were ended more than 40 years ago, but B53s remained in the active U.S. arsenal until 1997. It's taken the past 14 years to dismantle them.

"It's hard to understand how much destructive power this 9-megaton monster had," says Joe Cirincione, a longtime analyst of nuclear weapons policy and now president of the Ploughshares Fund.

"It would dig a crater 750-feet deep. It would kill everything within a 9- or 10-mile radius, and spread radioactivity for hundreds of miles around the blast site," he says.

Smaller Bombs Also Dismantled

The much smaller W70 met a similar fate a week ago. It had been deployed on tactical missiles, which have been withdrawn from service.

But there are still thousands of U.S. nuclear weapons in line for destruction, says Poneman.

"As we move to a world of less reliance on nuclear weapons, we're going to be retiring other systems as well," he says.

It could take 10 years or longer to get that job done, says Cirincione.

"The same facilities that dismantle U.S. nuclear warheads are also refurbishing U.S. warheads," he said. "And right now a decision has been made to prioritize refurbishment. So we're actually building more nuclear weapons than we're dismantling. That didn't use to be the case, but it is now."

Right now, the U.S. is dismantling about 250 warheads a year at the Pantex nuclear plant in Amarillo, Texas. The process is much slower than it used to be, says Bruce Blair, co-founder of Global Zero, a bipartisan group that supports the eventual elimination of all nuclear weapons.

"In the 1990s, the United States was dismantling at a rate three times the rate of today," he said. "Partly that's because we were not refurbishing a lot of weapons and extending their life spans. And now we have a plan, just the next 10 years, we're supposed to be extending the life, the longevity, of roughly 2,000 strategic, high-yield nuclear weapons."

The U.S. still has some 1,800 strategic warheads deployed, a thousand on land- and sea-based missiles that could be launched in 12 minutes — and another 2,500 in reserve. These are the warheads that are being refurbished and that have slowed the dismantling process.

"At the rate that we're dismantling now, which is around 250 or so weapons per year, a weapon that is ready to be retired and be destroyed may not get to Pantex for actual dismantling for 10 years, because the queue is so long."

How long is that queue? Poneman would only say it's a goodly number. Other sources say there could be as many as 4,000 bombs in warehouses awaiting destruction.

Dismantling the B53 Nuclear Bomb
Pantex Megadeath Plant (partial), 3 June 2010, Google Earth http://g.co/maps/s7bxz

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Workers unload a B53 bomb in this handout taken February 14, 2011 and released October 20, 2011. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will dismantle the last of the nation's strongest nuclear bombs in its weapons stockpile at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo on October 25, 2011, local media reported. The bomb was first put into service during the Cold War and is considered to be more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Reuters
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Workers examine a B53 nuclear bomb at the B&W Pantex nuclear weapons storage facility outside Amarillo, Texas, in this handout photograph taken and released on October 25, 2011. The United States dismantled the oldest nuclear bomb in its Cold War arsenal -- and one of the most powerful it ever built -- on Tuesday as part of President Barack Obama's nuclear security policy. Built at the height of the Cold War in 1962, the bomb was designed to be dropped onto a target by a massive B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber. Reuters
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A B53 bomb is seen in this handout taken October 19, 2011 and released October 20, 2011. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will dismantle the last of the nation's strongest nuclear bombs in its weapons stockpile at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo on October 25, 2011, local media reported. The bomb was first put into service during the Cold War and is considered to be more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Reuters
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A weapons trainer talks to, from left, Daniel Poneman, Deputy Secretary of Energy, Steve Erhart, Pantex Site Office Manager, and John Woolery, B&W Pantex General Manager about an inert non-nuclear B53 training weapon during an event commemoration the dismantling of the final B53 nuclear bomb at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011. (Roberto Rodriguez)
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Production technicians conduct a training class on the B53 bomb in this handout taken October 19, 2011 and released October 20, 2011. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will dismantle the last of the nation's strongest nuclear bombs in its weapons stockpile at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo on October 25, 2011, local media reported. The bomb was first put into service during the Cold War and is considered to be more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Reuters
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Workers tool a B53 nuclear bomb at a nuclear weapons storage facility outside Amarillo, Texas, in this handout photograph taken on April 15, 2010 and released on October 25, 2011. The United States dismantled the oldest B53 nuclear bomb in its Cold War arsenal -- and one of the most powerful it ever built -- on October 25, 2011 as part of President Barack Obama's nuclear security policy. Built at the height of the Cold War in 1962, the bomb was designed to be dropped onto a target by a massive B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber. The number of B53s that were once in service, and the number that have been disassembled, remains classified, but Joshua McConaha, Public Affairs Director for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, confirmed that Tuesday's bomb was the final one. Picture taken April 15, 2010. Reuters
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An inspector examines the casings of a B53 nuclear bomb prior to loading at the B&W Pantex nuclear weapons storage facility outside Amarillo, Texas, in this handout photograph taken on September 10, 2007 and released on October 25, 2011. The United States dismantled the oldest B53 nuclear bomb in its Cold War arsenal -- and one of the most powerful it ever built -- on October 25, 2011 as part of President Barack Obama's nuclear security policy. Built at the height of the Cold War in 1962, the bomb was designed to be dropped onto a target by a massive B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber. The number of B53s that were once in service, and the number that have been disassembled, remains classified, but Joshua McConaha, Public Affairs Director for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, confirmed that Tuesday's bomb was the final one. Picture taken September 10, 2007. Reuters
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Parts of a B53 nuclear bomb are pictured prior to shredding at the B&W Pantex nuclear weapons storage facility outside Amarillo, Texas, in this handout photograph taken on September 11, 2007 and released on October 25, 2011. The United States dismantled the oldest nuclear bomb in its Cold War arsenal -- and one of the most powerful it ever built -- on October 25, 2011 as part of President Barack Obama's nuclear security policy. Built at the height of the Cold War in 1962, the bomb was designed to be dropped onto a target by a massive B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber. Picture taken September 11, 2007. Reuters

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The shredded remains of a B53 nuclear bomb are pictured at the B&W Pantex nuclear weapons storage facility outside Amarillo, Texas, in this handout photograph taken on September 11, 2007 and released on October 25, 2011. The United States dismantled the oldest B53 nuclear bomb in its Cold War arsenal -- and one of the most powerful it ever built -- on October 25, 2011 as part of President Barack Obama's nuclear security policy. Built at the height of the Cold War in 1962, the bomb was designed to be dropped onto a target by a massive B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber. The number of B53s that were once in service, and the number that have been disassembled, remains classified, but Joshua McConaha, Public Affairs Director for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, confirmed that Tuesday's bomb was the final one. Picture taken September 11, 2007. Reuters