nuclear weapons

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Earthquake Could Cause Los Alamos Plutonium Facility To Collapse

Bob Brewin | Nextgov | June 27, 2013

An earthquake could collapse the building at Los Alamos National Laboratory, N.M., where plutonium cores of nuclear bombs are produced, releasing deadly doses of radiation, the Department of Energy’s inspector general reported on Thursday Read More »

Is the Technology Gap the Reason Why Medical Errors are the 3rd Leading Cause of Death in the US?

Hardly a day goes by without some new revelation of an information technology (IT) mess in the United States that seems like an endless round of the old radio show joke contest, “Can You Top This” except that increasingly the joke is on us. From nuclear weapons updated with floppy disks, to critical financial systems in the Department of the Treasury that run on assembler language code (a computer language initially used in the 1950s and typically tied to the hardware for which it was developed), to medical systems that cannot exchange patient records leading to a large number of needless deaths from medical errors.

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Just How Likely Is Another World War?

Graham Allison | The Atlantic | July 30, 2014

...Historical analogies like 1914 can be fertile sources of insights about contemporary challenges. One danger, however, is that people can find an analogy so compelling that they conclude that current conditions are “just like” 1914...

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Los Alamos, Sandia Labs Prepare To Shut Down Amid Budget Impasse

Staff Writer | Nextgov | October 9, 2013

New Mexico's two national laboratories are preparing to freeze their nonessential activities in less than two weeks in the event the federal government shutdown is still in place. Read More »

Officials Worry About Vulnerability Of Global Nuclear Stockpile To Cyber Attack

Aliya Sternstein | Nextgov | March 13, 2013

Senators requested a national intelligence assessment of foreign nations’ abilities to protect their nuclear weapons from digital strikes after the Pentagon's chief cyber officer said he does not know whether China, Russia or other nuclear powers, aside from the United States, have effective safeguards in place. Read More »

The Stuxnet Leaker Might Be the General Credited with Getting It Started

Abby Ohlheiser | The Atlantic Wire | June 27, 2013

The Obama administration's investigation into the leak of classified information on Stuxnet, a U.S. cyberattack targeting Iran's nuclear programs, has zeroed in on retired Marine General James Cartwright. As in, the general credited with presenting the idea of Stuxnet to the White House in the first place.

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What If It Happened Again? What We Need To Do To Prepare For A Nuclear Event

As we observe the 70th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it may seem like the threat from nuclear weapons has receded. But it hasn’t; the threat is actually increasing steadily. This is difficult to face for many people, and this denial also means that we are not very well-prepared for nuclear and radiological events. I’ve been studying the effects of nuclear events – from detonations to accidents – for over 30 years. I’ve been involved in research, teaching and humanitarian efforts in multiple expeditions to Chernobyl- and Fukushima-contaminated areas. Now I am involved in the proposal for the formation of the Nuclear Global Health Workforce.

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