Just like our concern over weather nuke plants will be safe, is there any oversight as to weather nuclear weapons around the world pose a safety hazard during the y2k. Before you brush it off as thinking no way, you must realize that many nuclear weapons in arsenals around the world are highly computerized and it's code is probabaly built on the same faulty two digit standard comerical code is. If they are having a hard time fixing commerical code what about that stuff. It's one thing to have a mainframe for citicorp go down but what about woops, No laughing matter. Time to evaulate if code will be a problem, they need to test a dummy somewhere small to make sure the whole fleet wont cause problems. I never thought I ever be advocating a test. To many's health at risk. 2nd question what is your call on weather the internet will stay up.

-- y2k aware mike (y2k aware mike @ conservation . com), August 18, 1999

Answers

Nuke's will be safe, as long as no one launches them. IF they are launched, it will be done by a human, not computer. IF they are launched they just might fly funny and land near the launch area?

I expect at least 1 Chernobyl(sp) type accident at a nuke power station(100%). Possible 4 or 5 (30%).

The I-net will stay up, but will be like 4 wheeling on Mount Everest.

-- CygnusXI (noburnt@toast.net), August 18, 1999.

The current status of Y2K and nuclear weapons can be found at:

http://www.dp.doe.gov/public/spile.htm

-- Bob (janebob99@aol.com), August 18, 1999.

All nuclear weapons will go off like Roman candles when the clock rolls over. It's in their programming, can't be fixed.

-- weare (laughing@you.com), August 18, 1999.

(1) I agree that nuclear weapons only will pose a danger if launched. I am concerned about some of the rogue nations that have them...and that they might consider the US to be in a vulnerable position...

(2) Nuclear power plants. I agree with the earlier post...90%+ chance of a Chernobyl type disaster or worse for at least one reactor. (Virtually 100% for practical purposes.) Significant chance of multiple reactor failures. I just don't think everything will be fixed in time. If the internet and telecommunications are down, it might be a couple of weeks before we hear about the problems. And we might only hear about it because of radiation clouds over other countries.

(3) Internet. I'm giving odds that some parts will be up, some down. How big of pieces is anybody's guess.

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), August 18, 1999.

The Internet will experience severe strokes causing massive problems with communications.

Rehabilitation will be difficult.

Rebuilding will be necessarily extremely expensive.

But the Internet will continue as part of the beast system.

-- Randolph (dinosaur@williams-net.com), August 18, 1999.

will I have to pay my credit card bills after the big day??? I'm not sure if this is really going to be the end of reality but just in case, have food,bikes, candles, firewood, batteries, water etc......is this all of waste of time because if the bombs go off???Maybe should build a bomb shelter.......

-- (KraazyBear@AOL.com), August 19, 1999.

I essentially agree with Cygnus and Mad Monk. I am not TOO worried about the weapons, but expect some fission power plants to melt down. Remember, it is a pain to get a nuclear weapon to detonate. I think the number of plant meltdowns may be large, but am not privvy to much of the secret information required to give an estimate with any certainity. Note that nuclear weapons need not undergo a nuclear detonatation to cause much grief; plutonium (presuming it is the fissionable material in the warhead insted of U-235) is seriously bad news if scattered. If the conventional high explosives in a nuke are triggered somehow, that's a very plausible outcome. All I can say is to buy KI, several Geiger counters, HEPA filters for some of your house windows, and don't live near a nuclear power plant or likely target if another country/terrorists attack us with nukes.

www.y2ksafeminnesota.com

-- MinnesotaSmith (y2ksafeminnesota@hotmail.com), August 19, 1999.