In article ,
"Guinnog65" writes:
"B2431" wrote in message
...
From: (Peter Stickney)
Date: 9/20/2004 7:34 PM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

In article ,
"Guinnog65" writes:

"An estimated 50 nuclear warheads, most of them from the former Soviet
Union, still lie on the bottom of the world's oceans, according to the
environmental group Greenpeace."

So, theoretically, anyone able to find them all and renovate them would
be
the world's seventh leading nuclear power?

Anybody who could find them and renovate them would be able to make
their own without going to all that effort.

The only part of value would be the plutonium. Does plutonium corrode in
water?

I would think so. And the tritium (assuming they are H-bombs) would decay
quite fast too. I did say 'theoretically'!

Should we be concerned about the pollution, as Greenpeace apparently are?

As far as Pu in the oceans go - no, not really. It's not very
radioactive, as things go, and is an Alpha emitter, which means that
the particles don't penetrate the bomb casing, or, if for some reason
the pit's exposed, the water. It oxidizes easily, which means that in
water, it's quickly locked un in a fairly stable form, chemically.
It's also damned heavy, so if, for some reason, it did get pulverized
(Which would have to be a deliberate act) it would settle out quickly.

I'd be more concenred with, say, a sunken cargo of Tetraethyl Lead, or
tankers illegally flushing their tanks, or runoff from improperly
disposed of houehold chemicals.

--
Pete Stickney
A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
bad measures. -- Daniel Webster