America's lost H-bomb

[cyrilgrey]

Very large ocean, very small amount of material. Miniscule impact.
Radiation leaving the bomb is safe after it reacts with matter in the way, as it will in short order. The worry is radioactive material being freed and traveling into the food chain or a person directly. Most of a hydrogen bomb is not very dangerous, U238 tamper, foam, lithium, so on. If the primary was present it would be a core of plutonium, very small in size, dependent on implosion to reach critical mass. Plutonium will burn in air, otherwise it is very much like lead, wouldn't corrode, dissolve or flake off to any great extent.

The environmental danger is slight, and explosion highly unlikely, nearing impossible.

 

[cyrilgrey]

Let's think about this a minute...

Lost nuke at the bottom of the ocean, subjected to salt water corrosion for over fifty years, possibly leaching hazardous radioactive waste into the water.

I don't know about the rest of you, but were I on a team trying to locate and evaluate the potential for recovering said nuke, I wouldn't be diving atop where I thought it might be. Radiation can have some really nasty effects on the human body, and my inclination would be to use remote submersibles with cameras to try and locate it, rather than risk radiation sickness or cancer from exposure to a leaking bomb.

Documentaries aside, my own personal opinion is, if they're diving for it, they're fairly certain they're NOT in the right location. At least, I wouldn't risk radiation poisoning for the sake of filming a documentary about a missing bomb.

Being near a fully assembled, or broken, atomic or hydrogen bomb poses almost no real radiation absorption hazard. Eating the plutonium is not advisable. This is not the same as a nuclear reactor dumping waste into a river in large quantities over time, exposure to highly radioactive material, or being close to a sustained chain reaction.

 

[Black Water]

This is a very interesting discussion! I own a house in Hilton Head, not far from Tybee Island. I've been interested in this legend my whole life.

I wish SeaJay (I met him once, and yes, that's him in the show) was here to answer these questions. I know he's been looking for the bomb for many years. The last time my buddies and I went over to his house, we met the pilot that dropped the bomb in the first place. SeaJay's garage is like the total dive hang out in Beaufort.

I am sure he knows the answers to these questions. Does anyone know him well enough to ask him?

 

[Mopar]

If I find it I will post it on the board under the forum "Things you found while diving". I hope it will be the only one posted.

 

[Tao of the Dive]

I live in Savannah, they aren't diligently looking for it. Which tells me theyA) know where it is and aren't willing tocommit resources to salvage or B) salvaged it already via some Howard Hughes-esque recovery program.

As for no detonation observed; Savannah does look kinda run down these days...

Here's our problem, in a nutshell. Apparently it wouldn't be hard for terrorists to do what the US military has presumably been working diligently at for over 50 years.

I like the official description of the incident:

No detonation was observed? Are they sure? Because sometimes a mushroom cloud can look a lot like a thunderstorm.

 

[Black Water]

If "they" knew where it was, or if "they" had previously recovered it, then "they" wouldn't have quarantened off Wassaw Sound when SeaJay found the hightened radiation readings.

If you remember, in 2004, it was big news that the government ("they") came down and shut the place off to the public when "they" were notified of discovered elevated radiation readings. These readings came from SeaJay's group - then called "ASSURE," and now called "Deep South Divers" - a commercial dive company owned by the guy named SeaJay - who interestingly, used to hang out here on ScubaBoard.

Since 2004, "they" have published a report saying that the Tybee Bomb wasn't in those readings, and that it's STILL "irretrievably lost." Plainly, the government does not have it and doesn't have any interest in finding it - hence, they aren't looking for it.

If they knew where it was, they would be very proud of the knowlege - and would be using that knowlege to make themselves look good - not bad. In fact, they'd be inclined to tell people that they know where it is, even if they really don't.

...So the fact that they tell people that they DON'T know where it is must be true - and is reinforced by them spending millions to research SeaJay's findings.

If someone doesn't ask SeaJay to comment, I will. I met him once. Maybe he'll come here and say something.

 

[DandyDon]

I remember Seajay

If someone doesn't ask SeaJay to comment, I will. I met him once. Maybe he'll come here and say something.

Uh, that will take some special approval...

 

[Black Water]

Hunh? I don't think it'd take anything special. He's a pretty friendly character. I'll send him an email today and see if I can get him to answer youre alls questions. I just thought that someone else here might know him better than I did.

 

[Tao of the Dive]

It was stated by another poster that they are dilligently looking for it, I was simply replying to that statement. If they were dilligently looking for it, there would be survey vessels looking for it very often. The only time they send anything out is when curiosity about the thing spikes, or somebody thinks they saw a spike in radiation. To say they are dilligently looking is somewhat missleading. i agree, it would make sense they would take credit for it if it was lost. I just question why they arent trying to find the blasted thing, which then leads the mind to ponder why they would not.

As for Seajay, I agree with Don; I think there is a reason he no longer posts here. To what it was, I cannot speak of with first hand knowledge. But there is a a reason.

If "they" knew where it was, or if "they" had previously recovered it, then "they" wouldn't have quarantened off Wassaw Sound when SeaJay found the hightened radiation readings.

If you remember, in 2004, it was big news that the government ("they") came down and shut the place off to the public when "they" were notified of discovered elevated radiation readings. These readings came from SeaJay's group - then called "ASSURE," and now called "Deep South Divers" - a commercial dive company owned by the guy named SeaJay - who interestingly, used to hang out here on ScubaBoard.

Since 2004, "they" have published a report saying that the Tybee Bomb wasn't in those readings, and that it's STILL "irretrievably lost." Plainly, the government does not have it and doesn't have any interest in finding it - hence, they aren't looking for it.

If they knew where it was, they would be very proud of the knowlege - and would be using that knowlege to make themselves look good - not bad. In fact, they'd be inclined to tell people that they know where it is, even if they really don't.

...So the fact that they tell people that they DON'T know where it is must be true - and is reinforced by them spending millions to research SeaJay's findings.

If someone doesn't ask SeaJay to comment, I will. I met him once. Maybe he'll come here and say something.

 

[Black Water]

I couldn't agree with you more. As far as I know, there is no government entity looking for it. Only SeaJay's company, and since I haven't talked to him in a year or two. I don't even know if he's still looking or whatever.

I saw the Americas lost h bomb show. there there is a government guy who says that it's nothing but a big paperweight and that if it's not causing anyone any harm we should just let it sit there. Maybe this is why the government isn't looking for it.

Why SeaJay is still looking is anyone's guess. Maybe he's got a middle eastern buyer. Lol!

I emailed him but haven't heard back from him. No idea why he's not around anymore? Maybe he just got busy. I see his trucks and his boats around all the time when I'm in Hilton Head.