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Are US nuclear weapons engineers really shooting rats off their lunches?

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By scooby
Are US nuclear weapons engineers really shooting rats off their lunches? 
Rep. Thornberry That's what Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said, in a talk at the Atlantic Council on June 23, and he might know, being the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and privy to all manner of top secret information. But he's also a booster for more spending on the nuclear arsenal. So is it true? And if it is, are we talking about guns inside the labs? Who carries the guns? Well, Nukewatch and Peace Farm have filed a Freedom of Information Request to find out. 

http://nukewatch.org/pressreleases/PeaceFarm-NukeWatch-PR-RatShootingsNuclearFacilities.pdf

Comments

Anonymous said…
I'm sure security forces in the far-out country-side Labs carry shotguns and have had to shoot a critter or two. Makes sense to me !
7/04/2015 8:25 PM
Anonymous said…
You can't kill radiation hardened rats with the handgun stuff. They have to resort to AR-15's at a minimum.

I think the gentlemen from Texas is stretching the truth a bit. But then again, he's from Texas so maybe those rats are running rampant at Pantex and when they can't nibble on the pits they go after the bologna.
7/04/2015 11:20 PM
Anonymous said…
"Nuclear engineers no longer consider national laboratories "desirable" places to work, "partly because they had to shoot rats off their lunch in some of the facilities that they were working in."


Yes, the part about rats (and mice) is all too true in many areas of the decrepit NNSA complex. Ancient 50+ year old facilities like those at many sites tend to attract rodent problems. My guess, however, is that Rep. Thornberry didn't mean shoot as in "shoot a gun". Still, his remark at the labs losing their "desirability" as places for the nation's best scientists is right on the mark. Just look at the complete fiasco that the much hyped Science Complex suffered when Wallace tried to get it built at LANL. The lack of funding for adequate facilities is telling. However, the offices of most of the top management are always first rate.
7/05/2015 8:05 PM
Anonymous said…
Probably a press typo. "Shoo" versus "shoot," the first a term not familiar to the beltway parochial elites. The second, all to sadly so.
7/06/2015 4:23 AM
Anonymous said…
Shoot vs shoo, well as the recent Supreme Court decisions have proven - words have little meaning.
7/07/2015 3:56 PM
Anonymous said…
Need some AR-15 practice for when the ISIS boys show up ! Rats/ISIS same thing !
7/08/2015 1:24 PM
Anonymous said…
It's not these rats eating employee lunches that is the problem.

It's the spider webs and rust inside our 50+ year old nuclear arsenal that is the problem.
7/09/2015 3:03 PM
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