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From: orb@whuts.UUCP (SEVENER)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.sci
Subject: Containment domes & Grapite Reactors: re to Stein
Message-ID: <858@whuts.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 14-Jul-86 08:45:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: whuts.858
Posted: Mon Jul 14 08:45:40 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 15-Jul-86 06:03:34 EDT
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> 
> Nuclear plants in the US of course do of course have containment domes.
> .... 
> It isn't hard to see that the old Russian graphite reactors like the
> ones at Chernobyl are a disaster just waiting to happen.  
> From what I can tell, the power density of the Soviet graphite reactors
> is so high, that only continuos cooling prevents the temperature 
> from rising to the ignition point of the graphite.  (Someone 
> correct me if I am wrong here.)  There are many reasons that 
> Russian reactors are now  PWR.  
> 
> Michael V. Stein
 
This is not true.  There are 8 nuclear plants operated by the Dept.
of Energy in order to make nuclear materials for nuclear weapons which
have no containment domes.  These plants also are graphite core
reactors exactly like the one at Chernobyl.
 
Caspar Weinberger has asked for expanded production of weapons-grade
materials at these nuclear plants to fuel Reagan's nuclear arms race.
For the first time in over a decade, the Reagan administration has
begun making *more* weapons-grade nuclear material to fuel the arms
race. (Previously material from old nuclear weapons systems was 
transferred to newer nuclear weapons systems)
Although Reagan is already deploying 3 nuclear warheads a day
(or approximately 1000 nuclear warheads a year) Weinberger wants
Congress to approve an increased capacity to over 2,000 nuclear warheads
a year.
This should tell us something about Reagan's sincerity about arms control.
If he truly expected to achieve *reductions* in nuclear weapons then
these dangerous nuclear plants could be shut down.  But rather than
shutting them down, Reagan wants to *increase* their production 
capacity by the 1990's.
            tim sevener   whuxn!orb