In 2004 it was estimated that at least 11 nuclear weapons of the bomb type. This is not counting other types of nuclear weapons. It was also estimated that 92 nuclear bombs were lost at sea from all nuclear capable countries.
Nuclear Accidents
Here are some of our military nuclear accidents in date order:
1950 saw a B-36 drop a nuclear bomb over the state of Washington, the explosive material detonated but the nuclear bomb didn't We also had a crash of a B-29 that was carrying a nuclear payload into the mountains of New Mexico. A B-50 crashed in Ohio setting off its high explosives but not its nuclear cargo. A B-29 crashed in California, again the explosive material to detonate but not the nuclear bomb.
In 1956 a B-47 crashed into a storage area containing nuclear weapons but they didn't go off.
In 1957 a B-36 dropped a nuke in the New Mexico desert. The explosive material detonated but not the nuclear material. A B-47 crashed in Florida with two nukes onboard.
In 1958 a B-47 containing a nuke crashed and burned causing contamination. A B-47 dropped it's nuclear bomb over South Carolina. The high explosive detonated but not the nuclear bomb. A B-47 caught fire while the plane was on takeoff. It contained nukes. The plane crashed and the high explosive detonated but not the nukes. This took place in Texas. A B-47 loaded with nukes caught fire and the its nuke was destroyed.
1959 saw a F-100 go on fire while it had a nuke on board. A C-124 crashed in Louisiana with a nuke but it was destroyed in the crash. A B-52 armed with nukes crashed into a KC-135. The two nukes from the plane were recovered in Kentucky.
In 1960 a fire in New Jersey destroyed a nuclear missile storage facility.
In 1961 a B-52 which contained two nukes crashed in California.
In 1964 a B-52 with two nukes on board crashed in Maryland. A nuclear Minuteman rocket fired in error. A B-58 with a nuclear load crashed in Indiana causing contamination.
In 1965 a C-124 loaded with nukes went on fire in Ohio.
In 1966 a B-52 with a nuclear cargo collided with a KC-135. The high explosive material detonated in two of the four nukes but no nuclear explosion took place. This happened over Palomares, Spain and caused one of the most expensive clean ups.
In 1968 a B-52 with nukes on board crashed in Greenland. We recovered one nuke but it is not know if the other three were destroyed in the fire or lost. Workers who helped with the cleanup died.
In 1980 a Titan II missile had it's fuel tank punctured and took off and traveled a distance of about 600 feet.
Will future generations suffer because of our carelessness? Could be! Imagine a nuclear weapon somewhere in the ocean and after a few hundred years the casing gets so corroded that the nuclear material leaks out into the water. The tides carry the contamination for hundreds or thousands of miles. This would effect the marine life. People would eat the fish and then the mutations and sickness would start. I am sure that this will be denied but I think that we as intelligent people all know better.