For sale: low mileage bomb
factory
Without much effort, a
used-car and scrap dealer in Pocatello, Idaho, got his hands on $10
million worth of equipment needed to build nuclear bombs. In June
1993, a Department of Energy lab sold dealer Tom Johansen most of
the major components to make bomb-grade uranium from spent nuclear
fuel. Johansen, who paid only $154,000 for the equipment, then
looked for buyers. They surfaced quickly, including an $8.2 million
bid from someone in India, reports the Idaho Falls Post Register.
Washington officials did not know about the story until the British
government tipped off the U.S. State Department, according to The
Wall Street Journal. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission then told
Johansen that the equipment, which came from the Idaho National
Engineering Lab, cannot be exported. The ease with which he
acquired it, however, raises the possibility that bomb-building
could spread as the defense establishment downsizes. The DOE
determined that employees and contractors involved in the Johansen
transaction were not informed about export controls or
nonproliferation guidelines. A newly formed committee will
recommend how to patch up the DOE’s security. Johansen, meanwhile,
wants the DOE to reimburse him $1.5 million him for lost marketing
opportunities.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline For sale: low mileage bomb factory.
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