malmstrom.af.mil
After over 70 years of maintaining the operational capability of the ICBMs on the northern plains of the US, the Air Force is investigating the possibility that personnel assigned to the task may have an increased incident of cancer. Thought to be due to their proximity to radioactive materials, the Air Force is surveying missile silos and related sights for fissile materials that could be the source. So far nothing has been discovered except PCB contamination.
The investigation is taking place at the three sites where underground missile silos are located: near Malmstrom AFB in Montana, Minot AFB in North Dakota, and F. E. Warren AFB in Wyoming.
The procedures required in maintaining nuclear weapons are, of course, very detailed and rigorous. It seems unlikely that personnel would be exposed to a greater level of radioactivity than workers at civilian nuclear generating stations but who knows?
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