Re: Dirty bomb predictions

[BLHamrick@AOL.COM]

In a message dated Thu, 7 Mar 2002 11:17:41 AM Eastern Standard Time, "Strickert, Rick" <rstrickert@signaturescience.com> writes:



<<Do these scenarios seem a little less than realistic to anyone else? Also, using the 0.0004/rem cancer risk factor (does this include inhalation?) doesn't give a very large equivalent dose/year for the

cesium scenario.>>



Yes, they seem unrealistic.  I couldn't find an event for any lost cesium in North Carolina, let alone do I know what he's talking about when he says "a small medical gauge of cesium."  If he means the dose calibration vial, eating the entire contents would produce 10 Rem in one person (i.e., they're usually around 200 microcuries, and the Ingestion ALI for cesium is 100 microcuries).  If he's talking about a moisture-density gauge (which is not used in a medical setting, unless they're repaving the parking lot), then there's about 8 millicuries of cesium, so you could do a little bit more damage, but you wouldn't be killing people with the radioactivity.



On the other hand you could do some very serious damage with a cobalt-60 irradiator source, but you'd probably be unconscious yourself before you could finish building the device.



That's what I think.



Barbara 

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