Radiation is good for humans in small quantities
Rising fuel costs could lead to nuclear-powered ships
ON 12 October 2000, the destroyer USS Cole hove into port at Aden in Yemen for routine refuelling.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/ns-rfc061108.php
As the vessel took on fuel oil, a small boat drew alongside it. Suicide bombers inside the boat detonated a cache of
explosives, blasting a 20-metre hole in the destroyer's hull and killing 17 of its crew.
The attack was a stark reminder of the risks the crews of naval ships face when they are forced to put in at potentially
unfriendly ports.
Now some members of Congress believe they have a way to keep ships out of harm's way and prevent similar
incidents happening in the future. A bill recently passed by the House of Representatives aims to make many more of
the ships in the US naval fleet nuclear powered, including amphibious assault ships that carry troops into combat. The
benefit will be two-fold, argue proponents of the bill. Rocketing oil prices make nuclear power an economic way of
funding naval expeditions, and thanks to the slow burn of the highly enriched nuclear fuel in marine reactors, ships will
have no need to pull into potentially hostile ports to refuel.
Next
Rising fuel costs could lead to nuclear-powered ships
ON 12 October 2000, the destroyer USS Cole hove into port at Aden in Yemen for routine refuelling.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/ns-rfc061108.php
As the vessel took on fuel oil, a small boat drew alongside it. Suicide bombers inside the boat detonated a cache of
explosives, blasting a 20-metre hole in the destroyer's hull and killing 17 of its crew.
The attack was a stark reminder of the risks the crews of naval ships face when they are forced to put in at potentially
unfriendly ports.
Now some members of Congress believe they have a way to keep ships out of harm's way and prevent similar
incidents happening in the future. A bill recently passed by the House of Representatives aims to make many more of
the ships in the US naval fleet nuclear powered, including amphibious assault ships that carry troops into combat. The
benefit will be two-fold, argue proponents of the bill. Rocketing oil prices make nuclear power an economic way of
funding naval expeditions, and thanks to the slow burn of the highly enriched nuclear fuel in marine reactors, ships will
have no need to pull into potentially hostile ports to refuel.
Next
 | |  | |  | |  |
