Kodak's private Nuclear Reactor with 5 pounds of weapons grade Uranium.

[walker 0]

Hi all

It appears even Kodak has more (official) Weapons grade Uranium than Iran.

Kodak facility in New York state housed underground nuclear reactor, report says

Posted: May 14, 2012 11:37 AM

Updated: May 14, 2012 11:37 AM

Source: NewsCore

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- A Kodak industrial facility in Rochester, N.Y., was home to a little-known nuclear reactor containing weapons-grade uranium, the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper reported.

The research reactor -- which was the size of a refrigerator -- was housed in a bunker underneath one of the buildings at the former Kodak Park site, the newspaper reported.

Kodak used it to check chemicals and other materials for impurities, as well as testing imaging techniques.

Although the reactor was not a secret, it was unclear if Kodak informed police and fire departments of its existence. Local authorities were also unaware of its existence...

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/18371088/kodak-facility-in-new-york-state-housed-underground-nuclear-reactor-report-says

As always follow the link to read the original article and story in full.

Nuclear proliferation eh? Even business is getting in on the act. Who would have guessed? Interestingly this kind of high Neutron Reactor would probably make a great breader reactor for Plutonium and enriching Uranium or creating a dirty bomb the Californium this kind of reactor uses as an intiator has been involved in previous cases of illegal Nuclear proliferation.

http://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/neutron-weapon-underground/

Kind Regards walker

[4 IN 1 0]

The reactor have been there for quite some time, it is about as legal as a research reactor that you find in university campuses, which many of them also use enriching Uranium.

[Hillsbills 1]

Lucky they don't have a Canon.

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

Not surprising - what else would one do with the cash stacks these corps sit on as a result of their, often brilliant, products and services. Apple should get in a similar trade, seeing as their profit margins are about to be wiped out by competition. :)

Corporations as Sovereigns - not an ideal distribution of power on the planet, but it gets work done, mainly infrastructure.

[[aps]gnat 28]

Lucky they don't have a Canon.

LOL

But maybe they were regularly asked to do special stuff/projects for the Fed's or the CIA maybe ..........

Maybe Polaroids that don't need waving?

Photgraphing China, through the floor?

Camera with built in flash and solarium?

...

....

ARH! Nop .... found what they were developing ...

[Robster 11]

erm...

Small Nuclear Reactors Are Becoming Big Business

[sparks50 0]

If undergrads can be entrusted with it, then I guess Kodak can be too?

I'm just waiting for the 1950s future where everything has its own nuclear reactor, from the power supply of your computer to your cell phone.

Edited May 14, 2012 by sparks50

[kireta21 13]

Can't wait day I can power my house with my own personnal fission battery :D.

[PELHAM 10]

Before we let our imaginations run away with us..... a few facts....

The reactor was in use from 1974 till 2007 when it was handed over to the Federal Government for disposal, it no longer exists.

It was a tiny research device, more of a glorified neutron source, used for imaging.

It did not produce any power, only a neutron beam for research purposes.

It couldn't have been used as a breeder reactor or for enriching, it's not the right design or powerful enough.

The total radioactive substances in it would easily fit in a 1 liter jug / occupy the volume of about a pint and a half.

The Californium source would only be a few hundred micro-grams, if that.

Usual silly headlines over nothing.

Edited May 15, 2012 by PELHAM

[slatts 1978]

Does it matter Iran has nuclear warheads?

Does it matter if they have the missiles to deliver those warheads?

The answer? No.

Why? M.A.D. Iran launches ->Iran gets fucked up. And the govt. are't that thick.

EDIT: I see the article is by Fox..aren't they pro-republican? and its election year? could be a case of the spin doctor at work to make Obama look stupid

Edited May 14, 2012 by Slatts

[max power 21]

Does it matter Iran has nuclear warheads?

Does it matter if they have the missiles to deliver those warheads?

The answer? No.

Why? M.A.D. Iran launches ->Iran gets fucked up. And the govt. are't that thick.

EDIT: I see the article is by Fox..aren't they pro-republican? and its election year? could be a case of the spin doctor at work to make Obama look stupid

I think the whole issue is that panicking people make bad decisions, and equipment is fallable. Without nuclear weapons, there is no risk of a nuclear exchange. With nuclear weapons, there is a small risk, and I think no risk is better than a small risk.

[Dead3yez 0]

Does it matter Iran has nuclear warheads?

Does it matter if they have the missiles to deliver those warheads?

The answer? No.

Oh dear. FPDR

[GRS 10]

I hate everything nuclear.

[Flash Thunder 10]

Can't wait day I can power my house with my own personal fission battery :D.

Maybe in a thousand years, humans can't profit off fission so therefore keep it suppressed so Oil can keep its iron grip on all human development.

[Iroquois Pliskin 0]

Maybe in a thousand years, humans can't profit off fission so therefore keep it suppressed so Oil can keep its iron grip on all human development.

Fission is a corner stone of a much larger castle of nuclear reactions - fusion being the prime candidate for energy generation, and I get a very distinct impression that fission of atomic nuclei in this Universe had been made for bomb use only due to the properties it exhibits. :D

[rangerpl 13]

Why a thousand years? Why fission?

The international fusion research reactor in France (sponsored by the US, Russia, China, the EU, and others) is scheduled to achieve its first self-sustaining fusion reaction in 2019. By the 2030s, it is expected that fusion power will go commercial and will rapidly begin replacing our current energy sources.

Maybe in a thousand years, humans can't profit off fission so therefore keep it suppressed so Oil can keep its iron grip on all human development.

Oil is still used because it's still cheaper than the alternatives, though that will soon change. As the price climbs, no amount of lobbying and corruption will prevent green energy from gaining popularity. The ultimate goal is still fusion, however.

[slatts 1978]

Oh dear. FPDR

oh dear what? lol

do you honestly think if Iran had nukes they would use them?

[PELHAM 10]

Fission is a corner stone of a much larger castle of nuclear reactions - fusion being the prime candidate for energy generation, and I get a very distinct impression that fission of atomic nuclei in this Universe had been made for bomb use only due to the properties it exhibits. :D

Can I ask where you think that spare neutron comes from during a fusion reaction? Without fission there is no fusion. ;)

Also, the only practical use of nuclear fusion on earth to date is in nuclear weapons. Anyone who tries to tell you that nuclear fusion does not involve fission, radioactivity, and highly radioactive waste is not telling the truth. It produces much less radioactive waste than fission with much shorter half lives, but it's still there.

Edited May 17, 2012 by PELHAM

[rangerpl 13]

Can I ask where you think that spare neutron comes from during a fusion reaction?

You don't need a fission reaction to ignite a fusion reaction. The way it's done in research reactors right now is by using electromagnetic force to bring atoms so close together that the strong nuclear force causes them to attract one another. The problem is that you require colossal amounts of energy to do this, more than the reaction produces. Most of the work being done right now is about making this process more efficient so that you have a self-sustaining reaction which puts out more energy than you put in.

ITER, the research reactor in France, is designed with the goal of producing 1000% of input power.

As for your other point, yes, it's true that fusion does create nuclear waste, however most of the radioactive material in the reaction would be the reactor itself, which is much easier to manage than fission waste. As for the rest, much of the remaining waste would be tritium, which has a very short half life of only 12 years.

Aside from that, unlike a fission reactor, a fusion reactor cannot experience a catastrophic failure of the same magnitude as, say, Chernobyl's. Any significant damage to a fusion reactor would cause it simply to stop functioning.

[PELHAM 10]

Ahhh not sure where you learned your physics but that isn't how it happens at all. Electromagnetic force is used to contain the plasma it has nothing to do with the actual fusion process at the atomic level, it's the temperature achieved that allows the nuclei to overcome the electrostatic repulsion of the protons and get close enough for the strong nuclear force to achieve fusion. To atoms, high temperature means high speed and the inertia of the nuclei overcomes the electrostatic repulsion.

The fusion between duterium and tritium results in two products - a neutron and a helium4 nucleus. The deuterium nucleus undergoes nuclear fission when it approaches the larger tritium nucleus. It is that fission that actually produces the energy output which is transmitted by the spare neutron. Fission - the breaking up of nuclei is a part of fusion - that was my point.

RE the waste, yep that's exactly what I meant. A radioactive chunk of metal the size of a fusion reactor with a half life of a century isn't what I would call easy to handle. Tritium is very difficult to handle and contain and in future years we may see a problem once the concentrations of it begin to rise in the atmosphere. Lets hope they get that part of the design correct. Fusion is safer and produces far less waste but it does have it's problems and everyone should be aware of that.

Edited May 18, 2012 by PELHAM

[Tankbuster 1747]

Before we let our imaginations run away with us..... a few facts....

Facts? OP doesn't worry about facts.

[mrcash2009 0]

Here's a thought (and a thought only):

If it was found in Iran what would the media do with it (regardless of certain facts and points made here)?

Id like to see that scenario unfold. Im just posting about walkers take on it that's all.

[PELHAM 10]

Well if we must discuss something that hasn't existed since 2007, wasn't a reactor just a football sized neutron source and hypothetical situations. I imagine the media would react in much the same way they did over this, hype, lack of understanding, bullshit, incorrect use of scientific terms etc etc.

Anyone who pointed out that it would indicate breaches of the following would be correct:

UN Security Council Resolution 1696, adopted July 31, 2006

UN Security Council Resolution 1737, adopted December 23, 2006

UN Security Council Resolution 1747, adopted March 24, 2007

UN Security Council Resolution 1803, adopted March 3, 2008

UN Security Council Resolution 1835, adopted September 27, 2008

UN Security Council Resolution 1929, adopted June 9, 2010

The posession of such materials would indicate further non-compliance with non-proliferation treaties and futher non-cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as required. That is the nub of the problem, no government is saying that Iran can't have a nuclear industry. The problem is they signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and were caught red handed not complying with it. They have to allow inspections and be open about what they do like everyone else that signed the (NPT) or withdraw from it.

Refering back to the Kodak neutron source or californium neutron flux multiplier (CFX), it was on a government register, Kodak were licensed operators, declared to the IAEA and open for inspection by IAEA officials at any time. If a similar device were found tomorrow in Iran it would indicate a secret nuclear program as yet undeclared and be further evidence of breaches of international law.

Edited May 18, 2012 by PELHAM

[oxmox 73]

Readind about it the first time here. Now this is funny, while Israel and the US is itching for a war on Iran about 20% enriched Uranium they cant keep track of their own nuclear stockpile. A private company, and this is probably not the only one, had for decades weapon capable Uranium in their basement in the need for photographic film production. Imagine a company in Iran would have been interested to start their own photographic film production years ago. Crazy world.

Edited May 27, 2012 by oxmox

[PELHAM 10]

Now this is funny, while Israel and the US is itching for a war on Iran about 20% enriched Uranium they cant keep track of their own nuclear stockpile.

??? Untrue - read my post above, this neutron source was never lost, it was on a register all the time. Not sure how you reached that conclusion?