Just How Toxic Was that "Toxic" Satellite?

The green blogosphere is lighting up over the labeling of the defunct U.S. spy satellite, and the rationale for shooting it down, as "toxic."

Hydrazine fuel, the purported toxic substance the Pentagon cited as its reason for blowing the thing up in space rather than letting it fall to earth, isn't all that toxic. And it doesn't need an investigative reporter to find examples of the Pentagon doing all it can to play down risks from toxic substances (it's responsible for many of the nation's Superfund hazardous waste sites).

It's more likely that there was sensitive military technology on the satellite that the Pentagon didn't want other nations to get ahold of, or that it wanted to demonstrate how well its missile system works, or that there was some other substance on board that truly is highly toxic, but which shouldn't be discussed in the press, since our enemies might read about it.

Whatever the true reason, the satellite was shot down, leaving us one cool video:

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