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4 ARRESTED IN SOUTH AFRICA TRYING TO SELL NUCLEAR DEVICE
VOA NEWS.com ^ | VOA News 10 July 2010 | n/a

Posted on 07/11/2010 3:18:00 AM PDT by Cindy

SNIPPET: "South African police say they have arrested four men in the capital, Pretoria, for attempting to sell what they describe as an industrial nuclear device to undercover officers.

The men - all South Africans - were arrested Friday at a Pretoria gas station, where they attempted to sell the device for about $6 million.

Police say Interpol was also involved in the operation."

(Excerpt) Read more at 1.voanews.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: caesium; caesium137; cesium; cesium137; digg; dirtybomb; gwot; interpol; mamelodi; nuclear; nucleardevice; pretoria; safrica; sasol; southafrica; vanderbijlpark; wot
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1 posted on 07/11/2010 3:18:04 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: All

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20100710085544493C308461

“Four bust in ‘dirty bomb’ sale sting”
July 10 2010 at 10:44AM

SNIPPET: “A policeman said the source of the Caesium-137 was unknown and investigators were going all out to locate the larger device. “We don’t know what these suspects’ intentions were and we need to find the device quickly,” he said.

Nuclear Energy Corporation of SA spokeswoman, Chantal Janneker, confirmed the material was Caesium-137, and said there had been no contamination in the area.

Hawks spokesman, Colonel Musa Zondi, said the four were arrested as they tried to sell the stolen material which was a sample of a device which was to be sold for R45 million.”


2 posted on 07/11/2010 3:22:24 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: Cindy

Remind me not to buy nuclear devices from guys at
gas stations.

“Yo Bro, check it. real thing, nuke bling,
six mill and I throw in the lead box”.


3 posted on 07/11/2010 3:23:25 AM PDT by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: Cindy

Stories like this always beg the question - “They stopped this one, but how many similar have gone undetected?”

The Good Guys have to be perfect *every* time, while the Evildoers only have to get lucky once or twice....


4 posted on 07/11/2010 3:41:16 AM PDT by Uncle Ike (Rope is cheap, and there are lots of trees...)
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To: Uncle Ike

Yep.


5 posted on 07/11/2010 3:42:08 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: Cindy

What exactly is an “industrial nuclear device”? And what industry uses them? Something isn’t right in this story... I think.


6 posted on 07/11/2010 4:04:16 AM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine .. now it is your turn..)
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To: PIF
What exactly is an “industrial nuclear device”?

One common use is making radio isotopes for medical use. They use commerical linear accelerators.

7 posted on 07/11/2010 4:08:08 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (The naked casuistry of the high priests of Warmism would make a Jesuit blush.)
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To: PIF

Cross field amplifiers, at type of radio frequency amplifier uses atomic isotopes.


8 posted on 07/11/2010 4:09:28 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (The naked casuistry of the high priests of Warmism would make a Jesuit blush.)
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To: PIF
What exactly is an “industrial nuclear device”? And what industry uses them?

The chemical industry uses nuclear devices as level transmitters.The LT gives a reading to the control room operator to monitor levels in tanks, vessels, etc..They are pretty common.

9 posted on 07/11/2010 4:23:03 AM PDT by SeeRushToldU_So ( Go Braves!)
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To: PIF

Super accurate atomic clocks is one application for Caesium.


10 posted on 07/11/2010 4:23:28 AM PDT by libertylover (The problem with Obama is not that his skin is too black, it's that his ideas are too RED.)
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To: Cindy

Probably thought they were selling to muzzies who would somehow make a dirty bomb and sneak it into the USA thru Mexico.


11 posted on 07/11/2010 4:34:02 AM PDT by umgud (Obama is a failed experiment.)
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets

I saw the headline and immediately went looking for its description as part of a medical tool.

Unfortunately we can expect this story to be posted a dozen times today by people in various states of panic.

Like it or not, these devices are very common and in many parts of the world they aren’t disposed of properly. Fortunately, the greatest danger they pose is accidental exposure like in brazil some years ago.


12 posted on 07/11/2010 4:36:38 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: cripplecreek

Alarmism! Fear mongering! In the Press?

I’m shocked, shocked, I tell you!


13 posted on 07/11/2010 4:38:13 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (The naked casuistry of the high priests of Warmism would make a Jesuit blush.)
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To: PIF
Well loggers, industrial radiography of welds and metal vessels, things like that.

There have been accidents in the past, and lost sources. In Mexico, a hospital received a cobalt radiotherapy machine as a donation. They had no one to use it, so junked it. It was melted into a batch of cast iron and cast into ornate table legs for outdoor restaurant tables. Just by chance, a tractor trailer was carrying some of these in a shipment, and had to make a delivery to Eberline, and it triggered all the detectors.

In South America, a janitor found a Cesium well logging source on the floor, and put it in his back pocket, and was wandering around asking people what it was. Here is one person who did not have to go the Vegas to lose his @ss.

There have been others.

14 posted on 07/11/2010 4:38:54 AM PDT by Gorzaloon (CNN:AP:etc:Today, President Obama's stool was firm and well-formed. One end was slightly pointed. ")
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To: PIF; Lonesome in Massachussets; All
What exactly is an “industrial nuclear device”?

One common use is making radio isotopes for medical use. They use commerical linear accelerators.


15 posted on 07/11/2010 4:48:15 AM PDT by McGruff (How's that Hopey Changey thingy workin for ya?)
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To: Cindy

“The Russians had plutonium; the sailors wanted beer.”


16 posted on 07/11/2010 4:55:30 AM PDT by Tax-chick (We made a proactive decision to postpone the originally scheduled nightlife activities.)
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To: PIF

The oil and gas industry uses a lot of VERY radioactive isotopes for well-logging purposes.


17 posted on 07/11/2010 4:59:47 AM PDT by 2harddrive
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To: Cindy

Its good they caught them but its not like they will make any sort of device out of a Cesium source IMO.


18 posted on 07/11/2010 5:29:55 AM PDT by valkyry1
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To: cripplecreek

Yes but that was a Iridium 192 source IIRC


19 posted on 07/11/2010 5:32:15 AM PDT by valkyry1
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To: 2harddrive
There are lots of applications for this type of device, i.e. inspecting welds for cracks by placing the isotobe over the weld and exposing a film or the electronic equivalent.

This Cesium 137 is very hot. Just a little emits a huge amount of radiation. Fortunately, it is very hard to handle without a dense lead shield which is very heavy.

20 posted on 07/11/2010 5:34:02 AM PDT by The_Media_never_lie
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