[ RadSafe ] " Technology to detect radiation has progressed "

Wed Aug 22 16:29:06 CDT 2007

As Ceasar might say? "Watch out for your friends".

I had a visit from an FAA guy one day at the facility. Little did I know he had a radiation detector strapped to his arm. I would have never known except that he was fascinated that the neutron detector was alarming. He said he had never had it alarm before. With our inventory of Am241Be I was not surprised. 

In years past I am sure lots of scrap metal and garbage was disposed containing radioactive material. Now every scrap yard and most landfills have radiation monitors. We are also now equipping fire and police with radiation detectors. We should expect that when these devices alarm, these persons will ask questions.

This is really no different than the cop that smells the odor of marijuana at a party and begins trying to find the user with his nose and eyes as the detectors.?

Bob Gallagher
nssi

-----Original Message-----
From: neildm at id.doe.gov
To: sjd at swcp.com; brent.rogers at ansto.gov.au; radsafe at radlab.nl
Sent: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 3:58 pm
Subject: RE: [ RadSafe ] " Technology to detect radiation has progressed "

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I had always heard the Juvenal quote in a
different context; more along the lines of  "Who watches the watchmen"
or to use your words "Who guards (us from) the guards." 

Dave Neil

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On
Behalf Of Steven Dapra
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2007 8:30 PM
To: brent.rogers at ansto.gov.au; radsafe at radlab.nl
Subject: RE: [ RadSafe ] " Technology to detect radiation has progressed
"

Aug. 20

         To answer what I consider to be the most important question,
how 
many contingencies do you want to prepare for?  Shall each of us be 
assigned a policeman, or FBI agent, or BATF agent, or Homeland Security 
agent, or *someone*, to accompany us everywhere to make certain we don't

blow someone up?

         There is a problem with the business of guarding everyone:
"Sed 
quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"  ---  "But who is to guard the guards 
themselves?"

         Franklin Roosevelt said "The only thing we have to fear is fear

itself."  Thoreau said, "Nothing is to be so much feared as fear."  As a

people and as a nation, we need to get a grip on ourselves.

Steven Dapra

All quotes are from Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 16th edition.

'Guarding the guards' --- Juvenal; p 109:3
Roosevelt --- 648:18
Thoreau --- 476:26

At 11:58 AM 8/21/07 +1000, ROGERS, Brent wrote:
>Steven
>
>If a crackpot/terrorist with a strange combination of dislikes
(abortion
>clinics and lesbians) is willing to blow up a bag of nails at an event
>related to neither of these activities, the Atlanta Olympics...  It's
not a
>far stretch to think something similar involving radioactive material
might
>occur at the Little League World Series.  That foolishness occurred 5
years
>before 9/11.
>
>If you were responsible for safety and security of Williamsport, would
you
>be willing not to be prepared for that contingency?
>
>Brent Rogers
>Leader Commercial Radiation Safety Group
>Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
>PMB 1, Menai NSW 2234
>T +61 2 9717 3251
>F +61 2 9717 9266
>M +61 4 1723 1879 (0417 231 879)
>E brent.rogers at ansto.gov.au
>www.ansto.gov.au
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Steven Dapra [mailto:sjd at swcp.com]
>Sent: Tuesday, 21 August 2007 11:40 AM
>To: Brian Rees; radsafe at radlab.nl
>Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] " Technology to detect radiation has
progressed "
>
>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?
>
>Steven Dapra
>
>
>At 10:14 AM 8/20/07 -0600, Brian Rees wrote:
> >Actually, I have been involved in personnel detections, and the
people who
> >ask the questions are polite and understanding and professional when
> >they've been trained well, which is usually the case.  In addition,
many
> >people (I know this isn't ALWAYS the case!) are aware that they are
> >slightly radioactive and may trigger detectors and be questioned.
Many of
> >the people (patients) I've talked to are understanding, and in many
cases
> >pleased to see that there really are people doing this work.
> >
> >My own personal opinion and experience only...
> >Brian Rees
> >
> >
> >At 08:32 PM 8/19/2007, you wrote:
> >>Aug. 18
> >>
> >>         I should think this would be intimidating.  Youi're trying
to
> >> watch a baseball game and all of a sudden a bunch of gorillas
packing
> >> heat are standing over you asking  nosy personal question.  In this
age
> >> of post-Sept. 11 paranoia I doubt that the interrogators were very
> >> congenial.  I wonder if any of them have wives?
> >>
> >>Steven Dapra
> >>sjd at swcp.com
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>At 07:58 PM 8/19/07 -0400, Jaro wrote:
> >>>Aviation Week & Space Technology
> >>>08/20/2007, page 26
> >>>Technology to detect radiation has progressed, says Army Lt. Gen.
William
> >>>Webster, deputy commander of the U.S. Northern Command. During the
most
> >>>recent Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., detectors
picked
>up
> >>>radiation from a fan entering the premises and handheld detectors
guided
> >>>officials to the fan's location. Upon questioning the fan,
officials
> >>>discovered she recently underwent radiation therapy for breast
cancer and
> >>>was still carrying residual amounts of the substance.

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