Posted on 04/13/2021 9:37:43 AM PDT by Heartlander
Thanks
In English what the Commission probably meant was "radiation sickness" (e.g., nausea, diarrhea, blisters) from a significant dose from the gamma rays of the radioactive material if taken out of the shielded container.
Radiation poisoning would occur if the radioactive material were inhaled or ingested by a person.
With the Keystone Kops at the border, I wonder why it didn’t happen sooner!!
In Brazil, too:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goiânia_accident
Ir 192 has a half-life of 241 years and emits 1.5 MeV betas and 168 KeV gammas, Se75 has a half life of about 120 days and emits 3 MeV betas, Yb169 has a half life of 32 days and emits 2.3 MeV betas.
Just so you all will know what to look for:
https://www.qsa-global.com/880-series-gamma-ray-source-projectors
“You can buy these devices online.”
You need a state or federal license to own one. I was responsible for a smaller source once and the paperwork is considerable. Plus training and inspections, and my source was not portable. Every couple years NRC and the state rad inspector would show up to see if it was still there, not leaking, and only authorized trained people were using it.
I just did a quick calculation, 150 Curies of Ir-192 in open air, no shielding, would deliver a dose rate of .7 R/hour at a distance of 10 meters.
You’d have to stand there quite a while before you started to get radiation sickness. Inhaling dust or smoke from a dirty bomb would be a real threat, though.
Sounds like medical equipment. Not what you typically guard with armed guards, not what you can build a nuke with, but controlled items and nasty radioactive dust if released in a dirty bomb.
You can Google it. No doubt licensing is involved but once possessed the NRC is not traveling with the device to make certain its precise location and ownership.
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