Posted on 05/05/2018 7:12:14 PM PDT by EdnaMode
A small amount of radioactive, weapons-grade plutonium about the size of a U.S. quarter is missing from an Idaho university that was using it for research, leading federal officials on Friday to propose an $8,500 fine.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Idaho State University can't account for about a 30th of an ounce (1 gram) of the material that's used in nuclear reactors and to make nuclear bombs.
The amount is too small to make a nuclear bomb, agency spokesman Victor Dricks said, but could be used to make a dirty bomb to spread radioactive contamination.
"The NRC has very rigorous controls for the use and storage of radioactive materials as evidenced by this enforcement action," he said of the proposed fine for failing to keep track of the material.
Dr. Cornelis Van der Schyf, vice president for research at the university, blamed partially completed paperwork from 15 years ago as the school tried to dispose of the plutonium.
"Unfortunately, because there was a lack of sufficient historical records to demonstrate the disposal pathway employed in 2003, the source in question had to be listed as missing," he said in a statement to The Associated Press. "The radioactive source in question poses no direct health issue or risk to public safety."
(Excerpt) Read more at idahostatesman.com ...
15 years ago. Bush’s fault?
A commonly cited quote by Ralph Nader states that a pound of plutonium dust spread into the atmosphere would be enough to kill 8 billion people.[132] However, calculations show that one pound of plutonium could kill no more than 2 million people by inhalation. This makes the toxicity of plutonium roughly equivalent with that of nerve gas.[133] Nader's views were challenged in 1976 by Bernard Cohen, as described in the book Nuclear Power, Both Sides: The Best Arguments for and Against the Most Controversial Technology. Cohen's own estimate is that a dose of 200 micrograms would likely be necessary to cause cancer.[134]Not as toxic as I thought.
It probably got accidently tossed in the trash and is now in a landfill.
Aren’t there instruments that can point to where loose pieces might be found?
It would have been stored inside a heavy lead container with radioactive labels on it. Things like that don’t just fall into a trash can.
It still could end up in a landfill.
LOL! Good one.
“The radioactive source in question poses no direct health issue or risk to public safety.”
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It’s weapons grade plutonium. It’s not candy.
A small amount of radioactive, weapons-grade plutonium about the size of a U.S. quarter
Thanks:D
“Idaho school can’t find small bit of weapons-grade plutonium”
Hate when that happens. What a nuisance.
It was probably a check source encased in a small carrying assembly to make it easier to keep track of. It’s acess and use would be strictly controlled. Maybe the paper work end was screwed up. The end result it was no longer needed and sent to the Idaho Nuclear labs for disposal. You want something to worry about read up on the fires at the Rocky Flats fires years ago. A gram of plutonium pales with that mess. The INL is still trying to get rid of the crap from Rocky Flats.
Anyone ever heard of a “Radioactive explosive” more powerful than dynamite? I came upon a mention of it in the Amarillo Daily News from Aug 20, 1940.
A Dr Arthur Shaudopvsky, of Brussels is supposed to have invented it.
You’d need more than 90 million tons distributed evenly to raise the level to the LD50 in just the first 1 foot of atmosphere over the ground. A bit problematic given less than ~100 tons has ever been produced.
Family lore says my uncle, who worked for Union Pacific, was involved in a rail accident involving nuclear material being moved to Idaho Nuclear Labs maybe sometime in the 60s. He did eventually die from cancer many years later.
Not as toxic as I thought.
So 1 gram of the stuff would be enough to cause cancer in 5,000 persons. (I'm guessing that this assumes that all of the Plutonium is delivered into human bodies, i.e., that none of it is otherwise dispersed into the environment.
Regards,
Yes. The estimate was for inhaled plutonium.
You know the Clintons sold the plutonium to the Russians.
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