# Get the Government Off B&W's Back! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 30, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-government-off-b-ws-back/594638 "2011-08-30T15:51:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-government-off-b-ws-back/594638/1 "2011-08-30T15:51:12Z")
From [this](http://m.knoxnews.com/news/2011/aug/30/federal-safety-board-slams-y-12s/) news report: > [@](#): > > OAK RIDGE — A federal safety board is again criticizing the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant for not following procedures, raising concern that the persistent problems are “systemic” and undermining the safety of plant operations. > > Staff of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board earlier this year conducted an extensive review of how the government’s contractor, B&W Y-12, follows technical procedures and conducts operations. The review was prompted by a number of previous incidents, including a June 2010 fire that was caused when workers violated a procedure during a “routine dismantlement operation” involving a warhead component of depleted uranium. But the contractor is fighting back: > [@](#): > > Darrel Kohlhorst, president of B&W Y-12, emphasized the contractor’s commitment to safety and fixing what’s wrong. In a statement released Monday evening, Kohlhorst said, “Operations at Y-12 are safe.” I mean, really! How long is this overprotective nanny state going to ruin everyone’s fun and place undue burdens on business? First the government said kids couldn’t play with firecrackers, and now **you can’t even set a nuclear warhead on fire without getting a nasty letter from some government agency!** I thought this was pretty funny – “Operations at Y-12 are safe.” Dude, nice try, but let’s face it – if you _deliberately_ skip a safety step and wind up _setting a fire with a nuclear weapon_, you’re **going** to get a letter from the government. _Nobody’s_ buying the “operations are safe” line. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-government-off-b-ws-back/594638/2 "2011-08-30T16:52:03Z")
Look, fires happen. It’s not like B&W invented the triangle of oxygen, fuel, and combustion! And let’s be realistic: it isn’t like a whole Minuteman missile was engulfed in flame, it was just the warhead, which is really pretty small compared to the size of an ICBM. Plus, who are you going to believe when it comes to the safety of nuclear weapons? Lots of highly paid government contractors, who wouldn’t be paid so well if they weren’t as smart as they are; or some old paper manuals that probably date back to the 1970s? Why, if those stupid ol’ books had their way, we’d all be wearing polyester leisure suits and getting our hair permed! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-government-off-b-ws-back/594638/3 "2011-08-30T17:59:05Z")
Worst case scenario? We have forty-nine other states. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-government-off-b-ws-back/594638/4 "2011-08-30T18:49:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Worst case scenario? We have forty-nine other states. And a new great lake! ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-government-off-b-ws-back/594638/5 "2011-08-30T22:03:38Z")
I understand that it’s dangerous to toast marshmallows over burning warheads because you might ingest radiation which could give you an upset stomach and diarhea. So long as they had the foresight not to do something that foolish I don’t see what the problem is - nukes are designed to get _much_ hotter than a simple fire can get so no harm no foul. Typical overreaction says I. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-government-off-b-ws-back/594638/6 "2011-08-31T02:14:53Z")
Not to rain heavy water on the outrage (they’re obviously trying to brazen it out after screwing up), but the inexplicably flaming radiation source was not necessarily a nuclear warhead. The article said the component was made of _depleted_ uranium, which is used in armor-piercing shells and (oddly enough) radiation shielding because of its density. I don’t know that they _don’t_ use depleted uranium for shielding in a nuke, but something like an anti-tank shell seems more likely, since it actually involves a DU spike inside a discarding sabot full of propellant. It’s a stupid thing to be careless with, but not quite in the same class as an H-bomb. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-government-off-b-ws-back/594638/7 "2011-08-31T02:29:39Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > I understand that it’s dangerous to toast marshmallows over burning warheads because you might ingest radiation which could give you an upset stomach and diarhea. So long as they had the foresight not to do something that foolish I don’t see what the problem is - nukes are designed to get _much_ hotter than a simple fire can get so no harm no foul. Typical overreaction says I. Personally, I’m not concerned about a nuke going off because of a fire. I’m concerned that a fire would engulf a building full of nuclear material, which would result in a cluster-love. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-government-off-b-ws-back/594638/8 "2011-08-31T02:39:56Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I’m concerned that a fire would engulf a building full of nuclear material, which would result in a cluster-love. A cluster-love? Is that like a gentler, more intimate clusterfuck? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-government-off-b-ws-back/594638/9 "2011-08-31T02:52:58Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > I understand that it’s dangerous to toast marshmallows over burning warheads because you might ingest radiation which could give you an upset stomach and diarhea. Sure, you might get an upset tummy the first few times. But if you tough it out until the mutant healing powers kick in, it’s all good from there. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2011, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-the-government-off-b-ws-back/594638/10 "2011-08-31T05:41:48Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > A cluster-love? Is that like a gentler, more intimate clusterfuck? It involves cuddling.