Posted on 10/12/2006 1:49:17 PM PDT by Señor Zorro
MADRID (Reuters) - The discovery of radioactive snails at a site in southeastern Spain where three U.S. hydrogen bombs fell by accident 40 years ago may trigger a new joint U.S.-Spanish clean-up operation, officials said on Wednesday.
The hydrogen bombs fell near the fishing village of Palomares in 1966 after a mid-air collision between a bomber and a refuelling craft, in which seven of 11 crewmen died.
Hundreds of tons of soil were removed from the Palomares area and shipped to the United States after high explosive igniters on two bombs detonated on impact, spreading plutonium dust-bearing clouds across nearby fields.
Spanish authorities say the appearance of higher than normal levels of radiation in snails and other creatures shows there may be dangerous levels of plutonium and uranium below ground, and a further clean up could be necessary.
"We have to study the dirt, we have to look underground," said Juan Antonio Rubio, director general of Spain's energy research agency CIEMAT, which is carrying out an investigation with the U.S. Department of Energy.
"We don't know what's down there."
The U.S. and Spain have agreed to share the cost of the initial investigation, which is set to begin in November.
The governments have yet to agree on who would pay for a clean up, according to a U.S. embassy spokesman in Spain.
Spain's government has bought a 25 acre area near Palomares where the bombs fell.
Since 1966, the United States has helped pay for Palomares residents to be checked for signs of radiation poisoning. Spain says there is today no danger from surface radiation.
But it still advises local children not to work in fields at the explosion site, nor eat their snails -- which are a local delicacy.
Like 'em or not, we have a responsibility to clean up after ourselves.
lol!
Didn't the Chernobyl reactor meltdown cause a hugh radioactive cloud to decend on Europe?
LOL. Yep. Coming to a theater near you...
Spiderman and the Atomic Snail save the world.
Them! (ants) was on last week. James Arness as not Marshall Dillon.
I'll talk to on Freepmail
I've always felt that This particular event was the final nail in the Soviet Coffin! The arrogance and stupidity of the nuke plant managers and workers were stupendous.
My brother-in-law worked for E.G.& G. as a nuc engineer and was sent to Palomaros for the clean-up.
While stationed at Minot I met and socialized with a Col, Standardization Board member, who was part of the accident board. Plain and simple B-52 pilots had become loose in their refueling techniques and the Buff under ran the KC-135. The suction pulled them together and BOOM!
Yummmm! Radioactive snails in black bean garlic sauce!
Sounds like a good name for a rock band. "The Radioactive Snails". ^_^'
Darn it! You beat me to it. ^_^
A list of nuclear weapon accidents at Wikipedia - see Jan 17, 1966:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_nuclear_accidents
Also, a FR posting about an H-bomb dropped off the coast of Savannah in 1958:
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b4d975e22e7.htm
Mighty interesting reading.
And very little is known about Russian, Chinese, French or British accidents.
Lastly, here is a reassuring comment from our freinds at Greenpiece:
"Nobody knows for sure exactly how many derelict nuclear bombs are rolling about on ocean floors worldwide. In 1989, Greenpeace estimated the number to be 50. At least 11 of them belong to the United States. Of those, four definitely have live payloads... "
Thanks for the ping. This is an indication of what a "dirty bomb" would do.
On 17 January 1966, A USAF Strategic Air Command B-52 bomber out of MacDill AFB, FL, carrying four nuclear weapons collided with a KC-135 during refueling operations and crashed near the town of Palomares, Spain. (The USAF routinely sent nuclear-armed aircraft aloft and deployed them worldwide in case of Nuclear war. Many aircraft operated out of the USAF bases in Torrejon and Zaragoza, Spain). One weapon was safely recovered on Spanish soil and another from the sea, after extensive search and recovery efforts. (The recovery operation at sea is depicted in the movie: Men of Honor, with Cuba Gooding, jr.) The other two weapons hit land, resulting in detonation of their conventional high explosives and the subsequent release of radioactive materials. Over 1,400 tons of Spanish soil was sent to an approved storage site
in the United States.
Kwell! The snails cook themselves!
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