Nuclear stockpiles could create 300,000 bombs

[theearthisround]

http://www.informationliberation.com/index.php?id=1067

The world has made enough explosives for more than 300,000 nuclear bombs, according to the latest scientific assessment of countries' nuclear stockpiles.

Stores of plutonium are growing, and there are new dangers from two lesser-known nuclear explosives, neptunium-237 and americium. Experts are worried that terrorists could steal enough to trigger a nuclear catastrophe.

"Our first concern is the risk of nuclear terrorism," says David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a think tank in Washington, DC, US. "We worry about what could happen in Russia, Pakistan, India and China."

Nuclear stores in Europe and Japan could also be vulnerable to theft, he warns. "Even the best protected bank can be robbed," he told New Scientist. "Someone, maybe an insider, could make off with something - and then we'll have hell to pay."

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http://www.informationliberation.com/index.php?id=1067