boeing, uranium, conspiracy (NP)

[jd]

http://reddit.com/goto?id=6dgk

"One year after the crash, the Laka Foundation, an independent Dutch
nuclear research group, revealed that the El Al jet - like all Boeing
747s - carried 1,500 kg of depleted uranium (DU) onboard in the form
of cadmium-clad counterweights hidden in the aircraft's tail fins,
horizontal stabilizers and wings.

Depleted uranium is an extremely dense metallic by-product of the
production of U235, the fissionable uranium isotope used to
manufacture nuclear weapons and fuel. Despite its name, DU contains
residual amounts of radioactive U235, along with less radioactive U238
and trace amounts of U236.

The journal of the American Society for Metals explains that DU
counterweights "are used in the aerodynamic controls of planes,
rockets and helicopters to maintain the aircraft's center of
gravity... in many civil and military aircraft."

"For many years," reads a December 20, 1984 Boeing document uncovered
by Dutch investigators, "aircraft manufacturers have used 'depleted'
uranium to balance ailerons, rudders, and elevators on certain jet
aircraft and rotor blades on certain helicopters." "

It had to do with rockets, Boeing, and has conspirational overtones,
so I figured I should send it along.