News of the Weird
Kodak’s bankruptcy filing includes a tidbit that reveals… something.
FNORD.
Via Gizmodo, under the heading of WTF?
Kodak Had a Secret Nuclear Reactor Loaded With Weapons-Grade Uranium Hidden In a Basement
Kodak may be going under, but apparently they could have started their own nuclear war if they wanted, just six years ago. Down in a basement in Rochester, NY, they had a nuclear reactor loaded with 3.5 pounds of enriched uranium—the same kind they use in atomic warheads.
But why did Kodak have a hidden nuclear reactor loaded with weapons-grade uranium? And how did they get permission to own it, let alone install it in a basement in the middle of a densely populated city?
Nobody really knows.
Although it was suspicious when the CEO kept tenting his fingers and cackling.Report
Kodak > IranReport
If Kodak has weapons-grade Uranium, maybe Sony has tanks after all!Report
This bring to mind the famous story of the Radioactive Boy ScoutReport
great book.Report
Also, it seems somewhat apropos, since uranium was first discovered to be radioactive (by Henri Becquerel, in 1986) when photographic plates stored nearby to it became fogged.Report
1896, of course.Report
I find this thought horrifying, yet fitting. Horrifying, insofar as my exposure (get it?) to Kodak has suggested that they should not be trusted with such a thing. Fitting, because I have often said they have the most toxic (get it?) business culture of any company I have worked with a company doing business with.
(Vegas attendees can get the whole story, if anyone remembers to ask.)Report
I think we got the picture.Report
I’d like him to develop it further.Report
Focus, damn it!Report
I shutter to think what could have happened.Report
I would assume such a thing would be quite valuable. Why not sell it to avoid bankruptcy?Report
High-energy, high-flux radiation sources are also useful for simulating the space environment. This can be useful if you produce large amounts of film for spy satellites.Report
There is a distinction between enriched uranium and weapons-grade (highly enriched) uranium. I was ready to pooh-pooh the story as having confused the two, but its source specifically says “highly-enriched”.Report
It uses the terms interchangeably though, and I’m still not sure if the CFX actually needs that much U-235 to get the SCM required. (I mean, it was technically not a ‘reactor’ either, more of an atomic pile)Report
Nevermind, didn’t read Mr. Akimoto’s below.Report
Yeah, this is 90someodd percent U-235.
Still not enough for critical mass, though.Report
Well, almost any amount of U-235 can be a critical mass if you have the right geometry and density. (and low enough poisons etc). But, seriously, thanks for the clarificationReport
Note that in Cold War terms, the “space environment” may include large doses of high-energy neutrons produced by Soviet counterspace warheads.Report
Clearly, this is because both Argus and Nikon were known to have already possessed weapons grade uranium. Detente as a nuclear deterrent is a proven strategy to prevent any one camera manufacturer from using the weapons grade uranium.Report
You’re the CEO of Kodak, which has been making giant advances in photography ever since the 19th century You’re in receivership, and over there these fishing kids are getting a billion dollars for putting cute borders around snapshots. Tell me you wouldn’t have been tempted.Report
I was part of a research project on the civilian uses of HEU last year. Essentially the likelihood is that the HEU was used for simulation purposes like space.
The use of HEU for this sort of application was pretty popular in the 60s and 70s and governments have been a bit slow to phase this stuff out.
Also 3.5lbs isn’t really significant.Report
That or it was a critical assembly. (That’s pretty likely. The term “reactor” is a bit imprecise.)Report
Dug up a bit on their decomissioning plan for the facility:
Report
From what I can tell the facility was actually decommissioned in 2006, and the sensitive materials were moved to holding facilities operated by DoE…essentially the people who are making a fuss about this don’t know wtf they’re talking about…again.Report
bubububb NOOOOOOOKYULERRRRRReport
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/assets/pdf/A2189207511.pdf
Is the decommissioning plan, in case anyone’s interested in reading it.Report
In short: Stupidly sensationalistic headline. The HEU isn’t there anymore, it’s 1/5th of a critical mass required to set off anything dangerous and they had a DOE and state of New York license for this stuff.Report
Gizmodo? Stupidly sensationalistic headline?
The deuce you say!Report
The world needs better science reporters.Report
I’ve never said that, ever, myself…Report
I thought everyone had one of those in their basement… huh.Report
MIT has one right in the heart of Boston/Cambridge.
Honestly, I’m not all that surprised: (1) A lot of Japanese research output is corporate. (2) We’re talking about the Gawker Media Network here, although I’ve been digging their Girls summaries and more or less everything written by a certain former dictator of Zaire.Report
Hell, little Reed College has one in the middle of Portland.Report
Great to hear! Next thing you’ll tell me Bard has one too, and the students drop acid and have orgies on top of the primary containment vessel.Report
Quite few universities had small research reactors.Report
Most university research reactors and critical assemblies have been converted to LEU fuel or decommissioned.
There’s actually been some substantial progress on this in the past few years particularly from GTRI and RERTR.
…really do wish I didn’t know so much about this subject, brings back bad memories.Report
Berkeley did when I went there, but it was decommissioned when the city went “nuclear-free”. Stupid PC nonsense..Report
For the most part, these things aren’t all that useful anymore. In fact really powerful computers with good models are probably a more cost effective replacement.
That isn’t to say that saying you have a nuclear reactor isn’t cool.Report
Nobody ever became a superhero from an accidental dose of supercomputing.Report
Oracle.Report
It’s true that the DOE is basically the biggest supercomputer customer in the world, followed by the NSA.Report
you should see what they’ve got under DC.
you all remember when we almost lost Detroit?Report