Did y'all read this:
Saturday, October 8, 2005
'Dirty bomb' source removed from UNH campus
By TONY BERTUCCA
Special to the Union Leader
WASHINGTON — A federal nuclear security agency has removed a radiological device from the University of New Hampshire that could have been used in the construction of a "dirty bomb," according to federal and university officials.
It was one of 13 such devices recovered across the country this summer.
The removal was part of a continuing national project to recover little-used radioactive materials that pose a threat to public health and national security, according to a statement the agency made on Monday.
Over the summer, the National Nuclear Security Administration recovered 13 gammators, heavily shielded devices that house a radioactive substance called cesium-137, a highly radioactive isotope used in medical and industrial radiology. The agency did not want to publicize the project until its completion this week, spokesman Bryan Wilkes said.
"I would consider it a large source of cesium," he said. "In the gammator it was 100 percent safe because of the shielding. But the danger is that if it fell into the wrong hands, it could be used to make a dirty bomb."
Dirty bombs combine radioactive material with conventional explosives and, when detonated, could spread harmful radiation throughout a concentrated area.
The level of radioactivity from the cesium in the gammator, about 400 curies, would not be enough to cause major damage to a large vicinity but would certainly pose a risk if dispersed in a crowded area, according to Dr. Eberhardt Moebius, a science professor at the University of New Hampshire who helped arrange the gammator's removal.
"It was a strong radioactive source," Moebius said. "If someone steals it, you can definitely pollute an area with radioactivity. If someone steals several of them, it would be worse."
Gammators were also removed from sites in Alabama, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Utah, according to the agency.
Lucy, do you have a url handy for that article?
If so, could you post it?
THANKS.
That's ok Lucy...I have the url.
http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showfast.html?article=61449
News - October 7, 2005
"'Dirty bomb' source removed from UNH campus"
By TONY BERTUCCA
Special to the Union Leader
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "WASHINGTON — A federal nuclear security agency has removed a radiological device from the University of New Hampshire that could have been used in the construction of a "dirty bomb," according to federal and university officials.
It was one of 13 such devices recovered across the country this summer."
ARTICLE SNIPPET #2: "Gammators were also removed from sites in Alabama, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Utah, according to the agency."
The removal was part of a continuing national project to recover
little-used radioactive materials that pose a threat to public health and
national security, according to a statement the agency made on
Monday. <<<<<<<
If there is this much radioactive material laying around in our country, can you imagine what can be found in some of the other countries?
Dr. Bill Wattenberg, has always said there is not a problem with getting it or the people who know how to use it in making a dirty bomb or a Hiroshima type bomb.
The Hiroshima bomb is a simple 'shotgun' type bomb.