Al Qaeda’s Nuclear Plant (NYT OpEd)

[jpak]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/opinion/06Faddis.html

ALL eyes are on Faisal Shahzad, the man charged with the attempted bombing in Times Square on Saturday.

But perhaps we ought to be concerned a bit less with Mr. Shahzad, a failed terrorist now in custody, and significantly more with Sharif Mobley — a New Jersey native, a former high school wrestler and, until shortly before he moved to Yemen to allegedly join Al Qaeda, a maintenance worker at five nuclear power plants along the East Coast.

Since his arrest by Yemeni security forces in March, American law enforcement officials have taken pains to emphasize that Mr. Mobley’s low security clearance makes it unlikely that he passed crucial details about American nuclear-plant security to Al Qaeda.

But it doesn’t take top-level clearance to know how to set off a nuclear meltdown. All it takes is information on perimeter security — information Mr. Mobley possesses about every plant where he worked.

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[ensho]

1. kick

nt

[NickB79]

2. And yet he tried (and failed) to build a car bomb instead

I wonder why he went that route instead, if melting down a reactor is as easy as the NY Times implies?

Is it even possible for one man to override the safety mechanisms in US reactors to initiate a meltdown?

[bananas]

3. No, these are two seperate terrorists.

Al Qaeda is very persistent - they made several attempts at taking down the world trade center before being successful. They've indicated that nuclear power reactors are a future target, it's just a matter of time. Gary Hart warned us, John Kerry warned us, go back to sleep.

[Confusious]

4. Melt concrete?

Sorry, get something as easy as that wrong, you're bullshit.

[jpak]

5. melt concrete - yup

:rofl:

[kristopher]

6. The OP author's title "Willful Neglect" certainly captures the slumord quality of (R) "leadership"

The same kind of leadership that has been at work for 8 years under the Cheney administration eagerly setting the stage for the "nuclear revival".

[bananas]

7. What do molten lava and molten concrete have in common?

Sorry, get something as easy as that wrong, you're bullshit! :rofl:

http://www.weldcare.co.uk/app10.htm

Thermic-Lance Boring

Thermic-Lance Boring is one method of boring and severing concrete, steel, cast iron and hard to clean materials without noise or vibration in a fraction of the time taken by conventional methods. It is ideal for demolition work, where noise or vibration are unacceptable, or where speed is essential particularly on reinforced concrete. The equipment is extremely simple and easy to operate, and the capital cost in comparison to drills etc. is negligible.

<snip>

The heat generated from the iron/oxygen reaction is sufficient to melt concrete, the melting point of concrete varies between 1800-2500°C. The formation of iron silicate increases the fluidity of the slag produced, therefore the silicate content of the material has an appreciable effect on the speed of operation and the rate of consumption of packed lance and oxygen.

<snip>

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5538764.html

The melting point of concrete lies in the range from about 1600° to about 1750° C

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5532449/description.html

The thermite reaction on the surface of a concrete structure is so intensive that it easily melts concrete and rock with a melting point in the range of about 1200 to about 2500° C

[Confusious]

8. Talking about a nuclear reactor Mr. giggly

Try checking the melting point of uranium, and the internal temperatures of reactor. About 800 C or 1400 F less.

And you tried so hard to change the point, didn't you.:cry:

[kristopher]

9. Kick