This is what it’s like to maintain the US nuclear arsenal

By TARA COPP
Associated Press

KANSAS CITY NATIONAL SECURITY CAMPUS, Mo. (AP) — The Associated Press has been granted rare access to U.S. nuclear missile bases and weapons production facilities to see how technicians keep the arsenal working while starting the government’s biggest nuclear overhaul since the Cold War. Because the U.S. no longer conducts explosive nuclear tests, scientists are unsure how aging warhead plutonium cores affect detonation. The lack of explosive tests means scientists must rely on warhead designs created many decades ago. Workers at the nation’s nuclear labs and production sites spend a lot of time stressing and testing parts to make sure they’re safe. It’s not unusual to see a 50-year-old warhead guarded or maintained by someone just out of high school.