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From: rb@ccird2.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.sci
Subject: Re: Plutonium
Message-ID: <796@ccird2.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 25-Apr-86 19:16:43 EDT
Article-I.D.: ccird2.796
Posted: Fri Apr 25 19:16:43 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 1-May-86 03:28:50 EDT
References: <358@drutx.UUCP> <1063@whuxl.UUCP> <2384@jhunix.UUCP> <708@whuts.UUCP>
Reply-To: rb@ccird2.UUCP (Rex Ballard)
Organization: CCI Telephony Systems Group,  Roch, NY
Lines: 40
Xref: watmath net.politics:15359 net.sci:765
Summary: What are we talking about here?

In article <708@whuts.UUCP> orb@whuts.UUCP (SEVENER) writes:
>> >... there is the
>> >danger (seldom mentioned) of scads of plutonium being released throughout
>> >the Earth from the destruction of the other side's nuclear weapons.
>> >Those weapons contain about 100,000 pounds of plutonium.

I am probably wrong about this, but in FUSION bombs, there isn't that
much plutonium needed.  The fission is used to trigger the ignition
of the tridium or deuterium (sp?).  In fact, some tactical weapons don't
weigh more than a few pounds including the fusion fuel.  Even strategic
weapons don't contain that much plutonium do they?  Since most of the
weapons that would be used by both sides are of this variety.

>> Certainly nuclear weapons are dangerous (understatement of the decade) but
>> I am tired of hearing statements that a few pounds of plutonium can kill
>> everyone on Earth.
> 
>A few pounds of plutonium *IF* properly distributed in tiny specks to
>everyone's lungs could indeed kill everyone on Earth.
>However it would be practically impossible
>to distribute a mere few pounds of plutonium in such a way that it
>*would* kill everyone on Earth.

Aren't neutron bombs intended to do something like this?
 
>When we are talking about the likely effects of shooting down thousands
>of nuclear warheads however we are NOT talking about a few pounds of
>plutonium - we are talking about a figure on the order of one hundred
>thousand pounds of plutonium.

There are lots of other things to worry about when you start talking
about several hundred, or even thousand, fusion bombs going off in
airburst fashion at the same time.  Things like possible ignition
of water vapor in the atmosphere, loss of ozone, and possibly even
loss of atmosphere, might be more valid concerns.  It is quite probable
that if a major exchange were to occur, no one would live long enough
to experience plutonium poisoning.

Does someone who KNOWS what is in the current bombs, want to clear
this up, or is that "Classified" :-).