British, French nuclear subs collide in Atlantic
"Nuclear submarines from Britain and France collided deep in the Atlantic Ocean this month, authorities said Monday in the first acknowledgment of a highly unusual accident that one expert called the gravest in nearly a decade."Officials said the low-speed crash did not damage the vessels' nuclear reactors or missiles or cause radiation to leak. But anti-nuclear groups said it was still a frightening reminder of the risks posed by submarines prowling the oceans powered by radioactive material and bristling with nuclear weapons ..."
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How close did crash submarines packed with nuclear missiles come to disaster?
Backgrounder: major nuclear submarine incidents since 1960s
Categories: nuclear, military, nautical, france, uk
Pip Wilson posted item above at 6:46 PM | Permalink
1 Comments:
Not that I think its a good thing that they hit each other, but leaking a little radioactive material into the ocean is not nearly as bad or damaging as what happens when it goes into the air, (example: Chernobyl) A mere crash or strong bump will not set off nuclear warheads also. They have too many safety precautions in place and have to be manually set off by precision conventional explosives compressing the fissile material from all sides at once. Still I agree that having nuclear subs roaming around is unsettling and probably rather threatening to most nations who do not possess countermeasures (i.e. most) Therefore it may not be such a great PR move :P (And its a waste of energy, resources, time etc..)
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