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Uh Oh
Authored by: darqmatr on Thursday, September 07 2006 @ 08:44 PM GMT+5
After reading the story, it's hard to tell what was stolen. But in either case, MOST nuclear stuff is normal run of the mill aparatus. Except the stuff is certified to be high quality, flawless, etc., like a Dell warranty.
Reminds me of a tech I sorta knew back in the 80's. He decided to steal an O-scope from a plant on the Hanford reservation where we worked. He took the scope apart and got most of the pieces home before he was caught. He lost his job over something he had enough salary to buy on the outside.
Stuff can be stolen from a nuclear facility. Tools, pencils, paperwork, you name it. Like any other industrial site. But it's pretty tough to get anything "radioactive" offsite, given multiple barrier alarms. Even so, if someone wanted to steal a "detonator" type device, it probably could be done from a weapons plant, but not a nuclear power plant. But stealing Uranium/Plutonium is like stealing 40lb bricks. If you've ever picked up a lead brick, it's very awkward and just about takes two guys. Uranium/Plutonium weighs the same, and it is awful hard to carry the stuff anywhere. Not to mention that the the fuel is not present in small packages (try 10ft tall modules that weigh a ton,) and if it's spent fuel, the radiation will kill you once you lift it from the fuel pool.
It doesn't surprise me that "devices" are stolen or traded on the open market. But obtaining an amount of fuel to form a critical mass to form a bomb is quite another story... It's just easier to use other forms of terror. So why do something that is ten times harder than another form of fear/terror? Hope it never happens, but there's lot of other ways to scare people.
Authored by: cgrotke on Thursday, September 07 2006 @ 09:31 PM GMT+5
The second story seemed, to me, to be of a bit more immediate
interest and also a bit like a bad word problem from a math class:
A truck leaving our reactor tests OK but ends up in PA over emissions
limits. They swear they are right at their end; Entergy says everything
OK here in VT. Nothing happened to the truck in between says the truck
driver. How many people...
Authored by: darqmatr on Saturday, September 09 2006 @ 12:19 PM GMT+5
The inconsistencies on obtaining radiation "readings" is due to the measurement being an overall estimate survey of the material.
I mean, think about it. You're not going to measure every square centimeter of a substance. But rather, try to get a fair representation of the whole by sampling portions of it. Remember, a human is measuring the radiation. So you can't have them standing in front of it for hours going over every inch of it and exposing themself to it. They try to get a "fair" representation. With precautions/protection based on the highest level measured.
The important thing is, that whatever is producing the radiation is confirmed "fixed" to the material and won't come off as a particle, rust, etc.. It's not uncommon to get different readings at different times. It depends on the source "emitter" of the radiation, decay time, and even the density/humidity of the air will affect what is measured a few feet away (more water in the air will block/attenuate the radiation).
And this all stuff that the reporting media generally doesn't understand (except for Dan B, he's my hero ;)
Reminds me of a tech I sorta knew back in the 80's. He decided to steal an O-scope from a plant on the Hanford reservation where we worked. He took the scope apart and got most of the pieces home before he was caught. He lost his job over something he had enough salary to buy on the outside.
Stuff can be stolen from a nuclear facility. Tools, pencils, paperwork, you name it. Like any other industrial site. But it's pretty tough to get anything "radioactive" offsite, given multiple barrier alarms. Even so, if someone wanted to steal a "detonator" type device, it probably could be done from a weapons plant, but not a nuclear power plant. But stealing Uranium/Plutonium is like stealing 40lb bricks. If you've ever picked up a lead brick, it's very awkward and just about takes two guys. Uranium/Plutonium weighs the same, and it is awful hard to carry the stuff anywhere. Not to mention that the the fuel is not present in small packages (try 10ft tall modules that weigh a ton,) and if it's spent fuel, the radiation will kill you once you lift it from the fuel pool.
It doesn't surprise me that "devices" are stolen or traded on the open market. But obtaining an amount of fuel to form a critical mass to form a bomb is quite another story... It's just easier to use other forms of terror. So why do something that is ten times harder than another form of fear/terror? Hope it never happens, but there's lot of other ways to scare people.