Cobalt-60, and Lessons From a Mexican Theft 174
Lasrick writes "George Moore and Miles Pomper examine the theft of a truck containing Cobalt-60 and find that, while Mexico did the right thing and reported the theft promptly, they were under no obligation to do so according to international rules and the IAEA. This was true even though the stolen material was 3,000 curies, making it a Category 1 source (the most dangerous). Quoting: 'At a distance of 30.5 centimeters (1 foot) from an unshielded source with an activity level of 3,000 curies, the dose to a bystander would be about 37,000 Rem per hour (a measure of radiation exposure). This means that anyone within a foot of the source when it was out of its shield was being exposed to about 10 Rem per second, a level that would typically kill half of a population exposed to it for 30 seconds. ... The number of fatalities will not be nearly as high as it would have been if the source capsule had been left in a public place. Cobalt 60, like other high-risk radiological sources, is more lethal when it is kept intact as a high-strength source than it would be if spread using a radiological dispersal device such as a so-called “dirty bomb.” Nonetheless, had the Mexican source been used in a dispersal device, the economic consequences could have been extremely significant.'"
61 (Score:5, Funny)
Re:61 (Score:5, Funny)
people are paying too much for it on the open market
Typical knee-jerk Cobalt60-skepticism here on Slashdot. Everyone wants to compare it to tulip mania and yell "bubble", and won't believe that the recent price run-up is because people are genuinely finding it useful as a non-state-controlled currency. USD's days are numbered; in the future, coins glow blue.
Re:61 (Score:3, Funny)
Swap your dollars for a Co60-Coin, it has a longer half-life than Bitcoins.
Re:So In Effect... (Score:3, Funny)
Dear Sir:
Please sit down right where you are. Yes, that's right.
Hands where we can see you.
We shall be with you in a moment.
Thank you for your cooperation.
The Department of Homeland Security
Internet Crazy Person Surveillance Group
Re:61 (Score:4, Funny)
I opened 750ml bottle of Cobalt '60, but less than 1ml of it was still fresh.
Beta sucks (Score:2, Funny)
I used to think I spent to much time on Slashdot, and that maybe I should cut back.
This "beta" could be just what I need to help me quit Slashdot.
Re:So In Effect... (Score:4, Funny)
Hey, you guys sent me this same notice, but no one has shown up.. I'm getting bored. Can you please hurry up? :)