Chemist held for possessing radioactive material { earned a doctorate in from the University

Associated Press ^ | April 6, 2002 | By CHELSEA J. CARTER

[ctonious]

By CHELSEA J. CARTER, Associated Press

Why do I instinctively doubt the source? I can't figger it out.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

This guy has a pattern of doing this. Explosives and radioactive material are not toys to be trifled with. This guy is nuts!!

Ahmed pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor for the 1997 explosion at a laboratory in Gardena. His state license to handle radioactive material was revoked and the lab closed.

I wonder if this was really an accident. Maybe he was well-paid to get that lab shut down.

[freespeech1]

Foreign student body grows

State, U.S. trend is surprising in light of Sept. 11 attacks, OU official says

[MinuteGal]

Oh, yeah. This chemist is just "sloppy", so let him go again.

Wouldn't be surprised if we hear about this weirdo again some time in the future.

And not in a positive way, either.

Leni

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

No problem with this source, what's up with you? I am also looking for somebody to buy the Brooklyn Bridge. How about it?

[Dan from Michigan]

Do you know this guy?

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Agreed. Just a little oopsie in 1997 that resulted in a lab getting shut down. Sure, he wasn't paid to do it.

The problem is, this guy has a doctorate and real credentials. How many other labs are going to hire this guy and get blown up? This guy would never be a disruptor paid by a Muslim country, would he? (sarcasm)

How many more times are we going to read about this guy and his mysterious "accidents"?

[Ronaldus Magnus]

Oh no, not Carbon-14! (/sarcasm).

I'm more afraid of my microwave oven.

[quimby]

Yep, this is the AP's version of "Lets scare the lemmings."

They search his home earlier this week and found what was described as Trace quantities in his home. But it exeeced his "license." But notice the lack of any metion of QUANTITY here.

Ooo, its radioactive. I'm scared.

[Wonder Warthog]

"They search his home earlier this week and found what was described as Trace quantities in his home. But it exeeced his "license." But notice the lack of any metion of QUANTITY here."

Actually, there IS such a license category defined. It is the quantity of radioactive material that ANY citizen can have in his possession--the number of microcuries varies by type of isotope. I don't know the current name but it used to be called the "General Purpose" license. To possess quanties in excess of the GP license amount requires jumping through added safety hoops with the regulatory agencies.

That said, carbon-14 is about as harmless a radioactive material as one can find--VERY low energy beta particle emitter. One pretty much has to eat it to get any sort of exposure.

[vannrox]

Riad Mohamad Ahmed, 62, pleaded no contest last year to illegal possession of radioactive material...


...that resulted in a lab explosion...


...was (yet again) arrested Thursday for...possessing such material again.


...He was released Friday on $50,000 bail..."

[vannrox]

Chemist Caught With Radioactive Material at Home

Apr. 5, 2002 2:45 pm
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- A chemist involved in a 1997 laboratory explosion was arrested Thursday after investigators found radioactive materials at his home.


Investigators said Egyptian-born Riad Mohamad Ahmed is not suspected of any terrorist activities. They would not say what he was doing with the radioactive materials or why they were in his home.


Ahmed, 62, was charged with illegal possession of radioactive material after investigators seized three briefcases, a suit and a desk all contaminated with radioactive carbon 14 at his home, said Tori Richards, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney.


The radiation exceeded allowable levels outside a laboratory, but did not pose any danger, authorities said.


Ahmed could also face charges of violating probation stemming from the 1997 explosion at a laboratory in Gardena, said Daniel Wright, Los Angeles County deputy district attorney.


In that incident, Ahmed was working with carbon 14 at the California Bionuclear Corp. when a small explosion and fire occurred, Wright said. The building was contaminated and the federal government later labeled it a Superfund cleanup site.


"It was so contaminated, he had to take the building down to the studs," said Wright, who prosecuted Ahmed in that case.


Ahmed was also charged in 1986 with mishandling radioactive, flammable and explosives materials at another lab. He pleaded no contest, served 60 days in jail and was fined $15,000.


Ahmed told prosecutors he was born in Cairo, immigrated to the United States in the 1970s and earned a Ph.D. in bionuclear chemistry from the University of Southern California.

[quimby]

Actually, there IS such a license category defined. It is the quantity of radioactive material that ANY citizen can have in his possession--the number of microcuries varies by type of isotope. I don't know the current name but it used to be called the "General Purpose" license. To possess quanties in excess of the GP license amount requires jumping through added safety hoops with the regulatory agencies.

Thanks for the info. Iv'e heard advanced licenses are generally given for certain groups of isotopes (and quantities), but for a disposal license, more categories (and quantities) are required .

But my comment about quantities was referring to the lack of quantities mentioned in the story. Of course they won't give us the info you did. They don't know or would ignore it cause it defuses the impact of the story that they seek. The goal of this story was to scare people-- not to inform.

[quimby]

The radiation exceeded allowable levels outside a laboratory, but did not pose any danger, authorities said.

Thanks. I knew I had read this somewhere.

[holyscroller]

"In that incident, Ahmed was working with carbon 14 at the California Bionuclear Corp. when a small explosion and fire occurred, said Daniel Wright, Los Angeles County deputy district attorney. The federal government later labeled the building a Superfund cleanup site.

hey no problem, it's ok, the taxpayers will clean up the Superfund site. It should only cost a few million. Heck, the guy's no threat. He knows what he's doing. He's got a degree doesn't he? Just let him post a little bail and let him out. He's got important work to do.

[ctonious]

No problem with this source, what's up with you? I am also looking for somebody to buy the Brooklyn Bridge. How about it?

Hey, have a sense of humor already! Please reread my post. Name three things disturbing about the source of this piece:

By CHELSEA J. CARTER, Associated Press

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

I understand that you were being sarcastic about the source. I was meaning to back up what you were saying. Now, if you were saying that AP is a great source and you were totally serious, then I would be surprised.

[LaGrone]

Lets bring in 50,000 more Mideasterners after 9-11, and also teach them chemistry and put them to work in a U.S. lab. Does anyone in our government have a clue??

[Chemist_Geek]

Lets bring in 50,000 more Mideasterners after 9-11, and also teach them chemistry and put them to work in a U.S. lab. Does anyone in our government have a clue??

Huh? Re-read the following excerpt from the story:

Ahmed told prosecutors he was born in Cairo, immigrated to the United States in the 1970s and earned a doctorate in bionuclear chemistry from the University of Southern California.

This is blown (no pun intended) way out of proportion. There's a distinct lack of hard information in the story.