[SystemSafety] The bomb again

[Matthew Squair]

John,

The current US requirement for nuclear weapons safety during a crash is a
probabilty of one in a million of a premature nuclear detonation. I guess
that doesn't really qualify as 'practically nonexistent'.

That being said, the nuclear weapons safety community has spent an awful
lot of time and money thinking about safety in the wake of such accidents
as Goldsboro, see their 3I principles for example, and I believe there
are broader architectural lessons that can be learned and transferred to
other domains.

See the references in my post for further details.

http://criticaluncertainties.com/2010/03/21/lessons-from-nuclear-weapons-safety/

Regards,

On Wednesday, 2 October 2013, John Downer wrote:

> Further to earlier discussions on the safety of the bomb (and courtesy of
> my former colleague Anne Harrington):
>
> From the Guardian: "US nearly detonated atomic bomb over North Carolina –
> secret document"
>
> "A secret document, published in declassified form for the first time by
> the Guardian today, reveals that the US Air Force came dramatically close
> to detonating an atom bomb over North Carolina that would have been 260
> times more powerful than the device that devastated Hiroshima.
>
> The document, obtained by the investigative journalist Eric Schlosser
> under the Freedom of Information Act, gives the first conclusive evidence
> that the US was narrowly spared a disaster of monumental proportions when
> two Mark 39 hydrogen bombs were accidentally dropped over Goldsboro, North
> Carolina on 23 January 1961. The bombs fell to earth after a B-52 bomber
> broke up in mid-air, and one of the devices behaved precisely as a nuclear
> weapon was designed to behave in warfare: its parachute opened, its trigger
> mechanisms engaged, and only one low-voltage switch prevented untold
> carnage."
>
>
> http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/20/usaf-atomic-bomb-north-carolina-1961
>
>
> For context, here's the official government assessment from 1960: "Stay
> Safe, Stay Strong: The Facts about Nuclear Weapons"
> http://archive.org/details/StaySafe1960
>
> My favorite bit is at minute 20:00:
>
> So how safe is a nuclear bomber coming in for a crash landing?
> "...the possibility of an accidental nuclear explosion is so small as to
> be practically nonexistent...you and your family may live in peace, free
> from the fear of nuclear accidents"
>
>
>
>
> ---------
> Dr. John Downer
> SPAIS; University of Bristol.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

-- 
*Matthew Squair*
MIEAust CPEng

Mob: +61 488770655
Email: MattSquair at gmail.com
Website: www.criticaluncertainties.com <http://criticaluncertainties.com/>
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