Re: A "dirty bomb" question

["High Plains Drifter" <magna1@jps.net>]

Mr. Molino, around 1974-75, due to a Ralph Nader scare involving smoke detectors, a dose assessment study was perform by the General Electric Co. for the Model 8201 smoke detector, for AEC/NRC licensing purposes.  The study involved estimating the routine doses to warehouse workers, home owners, disposal area worker, and exposures to firemen fighting a hypothetical warehouse fire involving 1,000 Am-241 smoke detector units.  Since the Am-241 is in ceramic form and primarily emits an alpha particle and low energy gamma photon the critical exposure pathway is inhalation.  The fire fighter would receive approximately 37 rem internal exposure over his life time due to the long lived Am-241 uptakes.  No respiratory protection was assumed in the assessment.  Direct exposure to the Am-241 60 keV gamma results in approximately 37 microR exposure for the fireman.  Personnel exposures during cleanup would result in an internal exposure via inhalation of approximately 0.33 rem.



Many tens of thousands of smoke detector devices containing Am-241 are disposed of in our sanitary land fills each year.



Some one from the NRC should be able to locate the original studies for licensing of the sources or any new studies.



Dean Chaney, CHP

  ----- Original Message ----- 

  From: LNMolino@AOL.COM 

  To: radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu 

  Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 7:17 PM

  Subject: A "dirty bomb" question





  As most of you know I teach in a federally sponsored (DHS ODP) training program for Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).



  I had a fellow instructor present me with a question that he could not answer during our RAD/Nuclear module.



  How many elements from smoke detectors would it take to make an "effective" dirty bomb?



  Note that as for effective we are speaking in terms of giving us (response forces) a reading on a meter of greater than naturally occurring background.



  Please remember that the answer we seek is not technical in nature nor do we want the exact formula to build such a device just an answer that we "lay" person instructors need to answer the question of a response oriented student.



  Feel free to answer here on the list or to me directly.



  Thank you.



  Louis N. Molino, Sr., CET

  FF/NREMT-B/FSI/EMSI

  LNMolino@aol.com

  979-690-3607 (Home Office)

  979-458-0795 (Fire Field Office)



  "A Texan with a Jersey Attitude"



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