TPM Editors Blog

Kaboom!

Dynamiting a big part of the crown jewel of their plutonium enrichment program is a pretty convincing demonstration of the North Koreans' seriousness about getting out of the nuclear business. But I question the wisdom of dynamiting a plutonium enrichment facility. Aren't these things usually buried in cement and forgotten about?

That's not simply a rhetorical question. I obviously know very little about the management, let alone demolition of nuclear facilities. But doesn't this risk kicking a lot of radiation up into the air?

Late Update: And the answer is ... No. TPM Reader Nuclear Engineers seem to agree that the cooling towers are isolated from radioactive contaminants. Next question?

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