U.S. a Ticking Time Bomb of Nuclear Weapons, Toxic Dumps, and Pipelines

How the World's Only Superpower Is Vulnerable to Catastrophe | Alternet

the greatest dangers for the United States do not lurk in terrorist
cells in the mountains surrounding Kandahar that are planning on
assaults on American targets. Rather, our vulnerabilities are homegrown.
The United States plays host to thousands of nuclear weapons, toxic
chemical dumps, radioactive waste storage facilities, complex pipelines
and refineries, offshore oil rigs and many other potentially dangerous
facilities that require constant maintenance and highly trained and
motivated experts to keep them running safely.


The United States currently lacks safety protocols and effective
inspection regimes for the dangerous materials it has amassed over the
last 60 years. We don’t have enough inspectors and regulators to engage
in the work of assessing the safety and security of ports, bridges,
pipelines, power plants and railways. The rapid decline in the
financial, educational and institutional infrastructure of the United
States represents the greatest threat to the safety of Americans today.  And it’s getting worse.