Is the Mafia dumping radioactive waste in the ocean? One robot aims to find out
Posted 09.16.2009 at 10:13 am
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Toxic Waste Under the Sea An underwater robot camera catches a glimpse of a toxic barrel on a suspected Mafia shipwreck
BBC
To scope out a suspected Mafia shipwreck that may hold nuclear material, Italian authorities sent in the robot.
A remote-controlled sub began filming a sunken vessel off Italy's southern coast over the weekend. That shipwreck may represent just one of 30 ships deliberately sunk in a rather sociopathic act of nuclear waste dumping.
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Science, Jeremy Hsu, mafia, nuclear, nuclear waste, nuclear waste disposal, radioactive, robots, submarine, toxic wasteItaly's robotic camera first returned images of yellow barrels marked with toxic labels from the shipwreck. Officials plan to test the contents for radioactivity.
Underwater robots have already been exploring shipwrecks for years, and both the U.S. Navy and oil companies seem eager to deploy ever greater fleets of robotic submersibles. But this radioactive scenario may give new meaning to Agent Smith's maxim, "Never send a human to do a machine's job."
[via BBC]
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The US military and Afghan officials claim to have cleared Kandahar city and the adjacent district of Arghandab of militants. Operations are still under way in Panjhwayee and Zharai districts.
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