Nuclear “Bunker Busters” Would More Likely Disperse Than Destroy Buried Stockpiles of Biological and Chemical Agents

Abstract

Using nuclear earth penetrators to attack hardened storage bunkers containing stockpiles of chemical or biological (CB) weapons would probably fail to kill or neutralize the agents. The explosion is more likely to disperse active CB agents into the environment, potentially adding to the casualties already expected from the intense radioactive fallout. The direct nuclear radiation and heat from a shallow-buried nuclear explosion is initially absorbed by the dense rock or dirt near the warhead, vaporizing and melting rock out to a radius R ≈ 5W 1/3m for an explosion of yield W kilotons. A strong seismic shock crushes rock to a distance approximately 10 times larger, R S ≈ 50W 1/3m. The expanding cavity of hot gasses, acting like a piston, then ejects this crushed material without significantly heating it. Simple energy constraints show that only a small fraction of the crater material originating close to the explosion can reach the high temperatures and radiation levels needed to destroy CB agents. Agent munitions located outside of the small sterilization zone, but within the final crater volume, would be ruptured by the shock and ejected along with the radioactive fallout. A more sensible strategy would be to use conventional means to seal all entrances and exits to the facility and keep them sealed until the territory could be captured and the agents carefully neutralized.