Thread: Iraq: US dropped nuclear bomb near Basra in 1991, claims veteran

Originally Posted by TopHatter

[*]Scorched earth

The silica would have been melted and fused into glass across ground zero

Originally Posted by zraver

The silica would have been melted and fused into glass across ground zero

Indeed.

Originally Posted by HistoricalDavid

Is it true trace isotopes can identify not only which reactor but also which year as well? It sounds a little like fine wine connoisseurship to me, but ok. Trouble is, the agencies know what the bomb smells like; how do they know what the reactor smells like?

Tom Clancy's THE SUM OF ALL FEARS gave the hint in which each reactor produces a specific ratio of one isotope to the other. It's a unique finger print to each individual reactor.

As for the specific age, well, you do know the half life.

Originally Posted by Officer of Engineers

Tom Clancy's THE SUM OF ALL FEARS gave the hint in which each reactor produces a specific ratio of one isotope to the other. It's a unique finger print to each individual reactor.

*cough* That's where I'd heard it but I wasn't going to say it out loud

I did a Google search for this clown. Couldn't find his website, his story was in Russia Today last month. http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/31680 Apparently he claims to be a mechanic in the 10th Mountain., not exactly a nuclear expert. The US made clear under what conditions they would have used nukes in that war, and Saddam never tested them. It's sad this kind of conspiracy garbage is out there, next thing people will start believing the US government was behind 9/11 or the Moon landing never happened...naw could never happen.

For this one though, Tom Clancy is spot on.

https://www.llnl.gov/str/March05/Hutcheon.html

“If a sample is completely purified, every one of the daughters should have the same age. If they do not, the difference indicates that the material has been altered or been through chemical processing. Because each manufacturer has different processing methods, we can use the age and other isotopic information to help identify, or attribute, where a sample was manufactured.”
Livermore physicist Sid Niemeyer submitted a proposal to the Department of Energy (DOE) for the Laboratory to conduct further research on these age-dating techniques. DOE then assigned Lawrence Livermore with responsibility for leading the national laboratory effort in nuclear forensic analyses. In 2003, recognizing Livermore’s technical expertise in nuclear forensic science, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) selected the Laboratory to lead a new national program in nuclear attribution of undetonated materials.....

Because the nuclear forensic field is new and has relatively few experts, countries engaged in nuclear attribution research often turn to the international forensic science community for technical assistance. In 1995, Niemeyer and Lothar Koch, former division leader at the Institute for Transuranium Elements in Karlsruhe, Germany, started the Nuclear Smuggling International Technical Working Group (ITWG). Experts from 28 countries meet once each year to work on issues concerning illicit trafficking of nuclear materials. The group’s objectives include developing protocols for collecting evidence, prioritizing techniques for forensic analyses of nuclear and associated nonnuclear samples, conducting interlaboratory forensic exercises, and developing forensic databanks to assist in interpretation.
“We want the working group to be a clearinghouse for scientific information in the nuclear forensic field,” says Livermore geochemist Dave Smith. ITWG works closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to provide requesting countries with forensic analyses and support. In 2004, ITWG organized the International Nuclear Forensic Laboratories to establish guidelines for best practices, conduct international exercises, promote research and development, publish reports, and provide point-of-contact assistance.
Countries possessing the equipment necessary to conduct forensic analyses, such as the United Kingdom, France, or Germany, perform their own analyses if nuclear material is intercepted within their borders. Countries without the necessary equipment, for example, many of the smaller nations in Eastern Europe, usually turn to the U.S. for nuclear attribution assistance.

(Me) If the material has an unknown origin then its not in the library and probably from a rouge state or old cold war stockpile (USSR)

Originally Posted by Officer of Engineers

Tom Clancy's THE SUM OF ALL FEARS gave the hint in which each reactor produces a specific ratio of one isotope to the other. It's a unique finger print to each individual reactor.

As for the specific age, well, you do know the half life.

Ah, the half-life issue makes sense, but my question is still how do they know what the original reactor ratios of isotopes (call it the control data) are, when they compare it to the residue left by an explosion.

Apparently he claims to be a mechanic in the 10th Mountain., not exactly a nuclear expert.

Heck, if he's a mechanic in light infantry division, he's not exactly a maintenance expert, either!

All they have are HMMWVs and brand new LMTVs!

Originally Posted by HistoricalDavid

Ah, the half-life issue makes sense, but my question is still how do they know what the original reactor ratios of isotopes (call it the control data) are, when they compare it to the residue left by an explosion.

IAEA supervision data.

......Today, we have a systematic and comprehensive approach for analyzing seized nuclear material. Parameters like isotopic composition, chemical impurities, particle morphology or the age of the material provide useful hints on the material under investigation.

Our laboratory, the JRC — Institute for Transuranium Elements, experienced an increasing number of requests for impurity measurements in certain types of nuclear material. This is a clear indication of the trend towards more investigative safeguards.

Q: What are the typical nuclear forensic tools available today?

KM: The measurement techniques applied in nuclear forensics comprise of methods that have been traditionally used in nuclear safeguards, in isotope geology or in material sciences. Investigative radiochemistry, however, remains the backbone of any nuclear forensic analysis.

The actual measurements, though, provide only data which are partly self-explaining. For interpretation of the data we often need to rely on reference information, which is obtained through model calculations, through data bases or through the open literature. All these parameters are combined to a “nuclear fingerprint.” In any case, a good understanding of the nuclear fuel cycle and of nuclear physics and radiochemistry is key for interpretation and attribution.

http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Mag...Forensics.html