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Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Reliability of nuke triggers questioned

Old devices made at Rocky Flats are replaced with those made without underground tests, which were halted.

Resting atop the Trident II missile, the W88 warhead is among the mainstays of the country's submarine-based nuclear arsenal. For years, however, testing the warhead's components to ensure that the weapon produces the intended blast instead of a fizzle has been complicated by a lack of replacement plutonium triggers.

Last summer, the first replacement plutonium trigger in 18 years received "diamond stamp" approval, signaling it was ready for use in a warhead.

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