The way the hold was described, if half true, this ship would be so hot that it would have a broken geiger counter miles away sounding like an am radio in a nighttime thunderstorm.
“this ship would be so hot that it would have a broken geiger counter miles away sounding like an am radio in a nighttime thunderstorm.”
Not really, it depends on what the radiation type is. To me it acts like a beta emitter. Beta radiation will not pass through the steel walls of the hold and could not be sensed remotely. It explains why the crew suffered no ill effects. It is also probably not an alpha emitter, because alpha radiation will not travel but a few inches in air. For the pirates to become sick from alpha radiation, they would have to ingest the powder. It explains why no one was injured until the hold cover was opened and they looked inside. Beta will travel several feet in air. These guys got a whole body dose form a very high energy source of beta radiation
If the radiation was a gamma emitter or a neutron source, several feet of lead would be needed to shield it.