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Norway storing radioactive waste in garages
Some detail on that high quality of life award they get every year...OSLO, Norway, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Tons of radioactive waste produced in the last half century in Norway is stored in two garages, the newspaper Aftenposten reports. "Plutonium? Yeah, we got that - over by the Chevy." The total includes 16 tons of uranium fuel and other dangerous radioactive waste and 10.1 kilograms of plutonium. A committee in a report three years ago strongly recommended that the country build a new secure central storage site for the waste. "We're thinking - don't rush us! 'Sides, those places cost real money! We'd have to cut back on ski trail maintenance - and you know how that would go over, heh!" The newspaper suggests that the stored waste is both a potential environmental and health hazard for thousands of people and an attraction for terrorists seeking material for a dirty bomb. "You wanna buy this shit? No kidding? Wow, we've been trying to figure out how to get rid of it! Talk about serendipity!" The waste is stored near Norway's four research reactors in the cities of Kjeller and Halden. "Just fire up your Geiger counter and cruise around - you can't miss it." Eric Martiniussen called the present storage conditions "indefensible." "Uh, Eric, would that be 'indefensible' because it's stupid or 'indefensible' because the local hiking club could prolly walk right in and take it?" "In the center of the city of Halden there are over 10 tons of highly radioactive waste," Martiniussen told the newspaper. "To get to one of these storage points all you need to do is pass a thin garage door made of aluminum." "It's secured and everything, but if you're serious about buying, hell, the passphrase to give at the door is 'Mullah Krekar sez hey'." Copyright 2004 by United Press International. Rumors of an upcoming garage sale are prolly unfounded. Posted by: .com 2004-12-11 |
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