NBC Weapons: June 3, 2002

Archives

As the Cold War ended, the United States began to close down it's extensive nuclear weapons production facilities. Many of these plants date back to World War II or the early 1950s. There had been complaints for years that sloppy administration had led to radioactive waste being left in places it shouldn't be. The Rocky Flats, Colorado plant was closed in 1989. It was the only plant that produced plutonium triggers for nuclear weapons. Since 1989, triggers for new weapons used refurbished triggers from older weapons that have been disassembled and retired. The new plant will cost as much as $4.4 billion (depending on capacity) and will begin production in 2020.

 

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   Contribute   Close