Was Port Chicago a nuclear disaster?

[Sea Skimmer]

wasnt the ANFO bomb that destroyed the OKC building 10 years ago mixed in another state.

Yes, but terrorist (whom routinely blow themselves up making bombs even with far safer types of explosives) methods have little bearing on how actual companies handle such materials.

[Nick Lancaster]

Enrico Fermi activates his 'atomic pile' reactor: December 2, 1942.

Port Chicago Explosion: July 17, 1944

Trinity Device Detonated, Alamagordo, NM: July 16, 1945

Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima: August 6, 1945

Atomic Bomb Dropped on Nagasaki: August 9, 1945


So the authors are suggesting that one year prior to the first successful test of a device, that one was involved in the Port Chicago Explosion? That this is supported by plans to deliver the thing aboard a ship, rather than via air-drop?

Yeah, right.

[Glocksman]

IIRC, the scientists did do a test detonation of a large amount of conventional explosives before the July 1945 test. I don't remember why, I just recall reading about the conventional explosives being used.

[Sea Skimmer]

IIRC, the scientists did do a test detonation of a large amount of conventional explosives before the July 1945 test. I don't remember why, I just recall reading about the conventional explosives being used.

The test involved 100 tons of conventional explosives, with canisters of low level radioactive material inserted throughout the heap of TNT. The purpose of the whole thing was to calibrate the instruments that would be used to record the Trinity test.

[Zed Snardbody]

Ah, muchos gracias, amigo. Spent ages looking for that thing.

Thats the Pepcon blast.

http://www.nmia.com/~jwreed/pepcon.htm

http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/pepcon/

Its still a marketing gimmik around here for shutter and such things, though not as much as it used to be.