[ RadSafe ] Two Meter Thick Steel Plates to Shield from Plutonium

Jeff Terry terryj at iit.edu
Tue May 31 23:14:54 CDT 2011


Overkill is underrated. - Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith


On May 31, 2011, at 9:50 PM, Steven Dapra wrote:

> May 31
> 
>        That's a steel "plate" that is six and one-half feet thick.  I was under the impression that plutonium was an alpha emitter, and that alpha can be stopped by a mere sheet of paper.
> 
>        I doubt that it would be possible to pour a piece of steel this thick, and if it were possible where would one get a crane that could lift it?
> 
>        The purported Soviet nuclear testing site in the picture looks like something from a science fiction movie.  Is it real, or is it PhotoShop?
> 
> Steven Dapra
> 
> At 06:51 PM 5/31/2011, you wrote:
>> Is this statement on the Der Spiegel Atomic Desert site accurate?  If it is,
>> why two meter thick steel plates and how much of an area do they cover.
>> 
>> http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-8,00.html
>> 
>> The Kazakh government had hoped to make the site available for agricultural
>> use once again. But some areas are still so contaminated with plutonium that
>> they have to be covered with huge, two-meter thick steel plates to contain
>> the radiation.
>> 
>> Thanks
>> 
>> Roger Helbig
> 
> 
> 
> 
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