The Air Force said its nuclear missile capsules were safe. But toxic dangers lurked, documents show

lurch , 7 months ago

Well… so are a lot of weapons. For example, some contain mercury fulminate or other sources of mercury that may slowly be released into the environment, if not properly cared for. Mercury is a health hazard.

The thing is, for a nation it’s often worth the risk, if having the weapon keeps your enemies at bay.

The risk should not be downplayed or hidden though. One should be aware that weapons are dangerous in more than one way; not just going off.

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Just saying: I am not surprised. Sorry if anyone is, but it’s only natural.

ShimmeringKoi , 7 months ago

I seem to notice a lot of movies in the 90s were about this, about the government hiding sinister leaking chemical weapons. Then of course 2001 came around and the collective response was “shut up, we have to kill a lot of people now” and only now is the issue sort of returning to prominence.

The 90s Invasion of the Body Snatchers is surprisingly good, got Forest Whitaker and R Lee Ermy

autotldr Bot , 7 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

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The toxic dangers were recorded in hundreds of pages of documents dating back to the 1980s that were obtained by The Associated Press through Freedom of Information Act requests.

They tell a far different story from what Air Force leadership told the nuclear missile community decades ago, when the first reports of cancer among service members began to surface:

To Hawkins and fellow missileer Lt. Samantha McGlinchey, who spoke to a visiting AP reporter as they completed an underground shift at launch control capsule Charlie, the news meant they would need to be diligent about medical checkups.

In December 2022, former Malmstrom missileers Jackie Perdue and Monte Watts, both of whom have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, asked the Defense Department’s inspector general to investigate.

“I believe health and safety standards have been violated, or not considered, and should be investigated,” said Perdue, who served as a nuclear missile combat crew commander at Malmstrom from 1999 to 2006, in an inspector general complaint obtained by the AP.

The Air Force acknowledges the current review can’t provide full answers on what past missileers were exposed to, but the data will establish a health profile likely to help them apply for veterans benefits.

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The original article contains 2,092 words, the summary contains 201 words. Saved 90%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!