We recently stumbled upon an interesting article by Jesus Diaz on Gizmodo regarding Eastman Kodak Co.
"Kodak may be going under, but apparently they could have started their own nuclear war if they wanted, just six years ago." writes Diaz. The information was recently leaked by a former Kodak employee that down in the basement of the company's Rochester, NY headquarters, there was a nuclear reactor loaded with 3.5 pounds of enriched uranium which is found in atomic warheads.
The main question is: Why? A last secret weapon for Kodak to use against Fuji? No, Diaz writes, "Kodak's purpose for the reactor wasn't sinister: they used it to check materials for impurities as well as neutron radiography testing. The reactor, a Californium Neutron Flux multiplier (CFX) was acquired in 1974 and loaded with three and a half pounds of enriched uranium plates placed around a californium-252 core."
Another perhaps more important question is: How? "How did they get permission to own it, let alone install it in a basement in the middle of a densely populated city?" asks Diaz. "Kodak officials now admit that they never made any public announcement about it. In fact, nobody in the city—officials, police or firemen—or in the state of New York or anywhere else knew about it until it was recently leaked."
"Its existence and whereabouts were purposely kept vague and only a few engineers and Federal employees really knew about the project" writes Diaz. "The reactor was installed in a closely guarded, two-foot-thick concrete walled underground bunker."
"While 3.5 pounds of weapons-grade uranium is not enough to create a nuclear bomb, illegal arm merchants are seeking small amounts like this to put them for sale in the black market—which is why the United States has such a tight control on this material. The government doesn't want Iran or al-Qaeda getting their hands all over the atomic candy for obvious reasons." adds Diaz.