Making a Real Killing
by Len Ackland · first published 1999
3mentions
2recommended by
2HN commenters
2013–2018first – last mentioned
100% recommend
"Just as huge nuclear explosions result from small spheres of plutonium, the story of the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant near Denver, Colorado, is much larger than itself. It is about the Church family, who came west seeking gold in 1861, stayed to raise cattle, watched the federal government take a large piece of its land for the weapons plant in 1951 - and now is busily developing real estate in the booming suburbs next to the contaminated plant site. It is about the government and private corporations that produced the deadliest devices in history for thirty-seven years, concealed probl
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…trying to build something relatively advanced, not just a basic bomb. Edit: Another real problem with working with plutonium is that it is fairly nasty stuff to deal with - I can recommend the book "Making a Real Killing: Rocky Flats and the Nuclear West" to get some idea of the horrors of working with plutonium on an industrial scale: http://www.amazon.com/Making-Real-Killing-Rocky-Nuclear/dp/0...
on “High-end CNC machines can't be moved without manufacturers' permission” ↗I can recommend this book that describes the history of the Rocky Flats plant just outside Denver and the various accidents that happened there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_a_Real_Killing:_Rocky_Fl...
on “A Sneak Peek at Eric Schlosser's New Book on Nuclear Weapons” ↗Thanks. Adding that book to my list. Two other good books about early nuclear weapon manufacturing: “Plutopia” and “Making a real killing: Rocky flats and the nuclear west”. Plutopia focuses on Hanford and is quite eye opening. It also compares and contrasts the early American and Soviet programs
on “How the Manhattan Project’s Nuclear Suburb Stayed Secret” ↗