tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post2675176017613521909..comments2024-03-28T08:06:43.198-04:00Comments on The Silicon Graybeard: Monitoring the Country for Dirty BombsSiGraybeardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-4791712658775621412017-06-20T13:18:39.765-04:002017-06-20T13:18:39.765-04:00I too am kind of skeptical of the real impact of a...I too am kind of skeptical of the real impact of a dirty bomb. However imagine a dirty bomb with a serious radioactive isotope going off in Times Square. Perhaps a thousand people would be immediately exposed and at risk. The entire area including a significant down wind area would be closed for a long cleanup that would likely require removing buildings and a foot to two or three of soil/concrete/paving to clean it up. Probably it would still retain radioactivity such that it would be unbuildable and unsafe for human traffic for a thousand years or so. While this is going on it would likely continue to spread with wind and traffic (foot/vehicle) and new hot spots would crop up with many of the same serious clean ups necessary. <br />All of this depends solely on the isotope they managed to get to build the bomb. The worst would make New York city itself uninhabitable for a few thousand years. The least radioactive/dangerous would merely require $20-$50 billion or so in cleanup. So how bad would it be? Depends. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-60180527889682843132017-06-18T21:07:40.702-04:002017-06-18T21:07:40.702-04:00I've heard basically the same thing. A dirty ...I've heard basically the same thing. A dirty bomb is a bit overblown as a threat - except for the people right on top of it. It's just that most people have an irrational fear of anything involving the "R" word. <br /><br />Likewise, I'd welcome a real expert's input. <br /><br />SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-59120934765576633542017-06-18T19:52:22.172-04:002017-06-18T19:52:22.172-04:00While I'm not a radiation expert, from what I ...While I'm not a radiation expert, from what I do know about it, I feel like the 'dirty bomb' threat is over hyped - unless someone gets hold of a large amount of HIGHLY radioactive material AND a large amount of explosives AND gets them both in the right place in a populated area, they end up with , at most, the equivalent of what Aum Shinriku did with their sarin gas attack in Tokyo (and remember, it took them a decade and hundreds of millions of dollars, and a bunch of biochemists to do what they did). <br />The radiation incidents that I have read about - Chernobyl, Mayak, Church Rock (the largest radiation release in the US, and one you probably haven't heard of), all required multiple tons of radioactive material to have the impact they did, and were the byproduct of institutional scale work; how much damage would a few pounds of, say, medical waste, do?<br />Can somebody who knows the subject better comment on the actual hazard of a dirty bomb? <br />Jonathan Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10476185257203343474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-34913209703040732462017-06-18T12:24:36.511-04:002017-06-18T12:24:36.511-04:00Those radiation pagers were sensitive enough that ...Those radiation pagers were sensitive enough that I couldn't wear mine for three days or so after having a radioactive stress test.<br /><br />The real frightening part is when the pager goes off while you are in traffic on the way to work. False positive? Real positive? And I didn't see any trucks nearby. If I was still working I would test the kitty litter and banana theory. <br /><br />Next time I talk to my former coworkers, I will ask some questions.John in Phillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16196033252818387245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-5464975660760670142017-06-18T11:46:42.833-04:002017-06-18T11:46:42.833-04:00I was surprised at the kitty litter. I figure it ...I was surprised at the kitty litter. I figure it must be something in the clay base and <a href="http://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/consumer%20products/catlitter.htm" rel="nofollow">Oak Ridge</a> says the kitty litter clay contains traces of uranium and thorium. <br /><br />Bananas are famous, and even have a unit of radiation named after them, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose" rel="nofollow">Banana Equivalent Dose. </a> <br /><br />A grocery store delivery truck with bananas and kitty litter must light up every detector there is. <br /><br />SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-59219240657898181062017-06-18T08:53:26.438-04:002017-06-18T08:53:26.438-04:00We need to sell kitty litter to Iran and North Kor...We need to sell kitty litter to Iran and North Korea with the promise of a shortcut... I can only hope that it's been tried.LLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05538854359365988863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-72953013743707846272017-06-18T01:32:51.888-04:002017-06-18T01:32:51.888-04:00Almost makes you want to drive a Ryder rental truc...Almost makes you want to drive a Ryder rental truck filled with kitty litter through Oklahoma City ;-)Reg Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14099612693763932005noreply@blogger.com