[ RadSafe ] Does anything think this may be getting a little out of hand?

[Steven Dapra]

Aug. 21

         Thank you, Clayton.  You have provided a much-needed voice of reason.

Steven Dapra


At 10:07 AM 8/21/07 -0400, Clayton J Bradt wrote:

>Steven Dapra wrote:
>
> >Aug. 20
> >         I may (or may not) be willing to concede a small amount on this
>one.
> >         A little more to the point, why are people being screened when
> >they are going to a Little League World Series game?  Is the post-Sept. 11
> >paraonia so bad that our ostensible protectors believe terrorists (or
> >perhaps run of the mill crackpots) are going to be throwing around 'lethal
> >radioactive substances' at a Little League game?  Does anything think this
> >may be getting a little out of hand?  And if not, what *does* constitute
> >getting out of hand?
>
>
>This is most definitely out of hand, but there are just too many careers
>(state & federal homeland security officers) and too much money (detector
>vendors) to be made by stoking the fear of radioactive terrorism.   Never
>mind the fact that RDDs would be very inefficient weapons, and that they
>have never been used anywhere by anyone.  Never mind that the terror
>weapons of choice, day in and day out, are high explosives and good-old
>bullets.  Remember: the federal building in Oklahoma City was taken out
>with an ANFO bomb in a panel truck; the WTC towers were taken down with
>kerosene.  The real terror weapons are easy to get and hard to detect,
>while radioactive material is hard to come by (at least in quantities large
>enough to be dangerous) and is easy to detect.   Radiation is sexy - fuel
>oil isn't.
>
>If you had a choice, which threat would you rather be responsible for
>protecting against?  Answer: The one you would most likely be able to claim
>success at having prevented (i.e. the one least likely to occur.)
>
>
>Clayton J. Bradt
>Assistant Bureau Director
>BERP
>NYS Dept. of Health
>518-402-7578
>
>
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