RE: Missing Exit Signs

[John Jacobus <crispy_bird@YAHOO.COM>]

I would think that the purpose of a radiological

dispersion device is to creat fear an panic.  If the

first responsers could not detect the radionuclide,

i.e., tritium in any form, because they were using GM

or exposure rate meters, the terrorist would have lost

the edge in creating panic.



--- Jaro <jaro-10kbq@sympatico.ca> wrote:

> Franz wrote:

> I would say, that trying to use tritium exit signs

> as an RDD, is ridiculous.

> If they were of the type I know - filled with

> gaseous HT - sure no cleanup

> would be necessary and would not cost a single cent,

> because within a few

> minutes all of this gas would have been dispersed

> and diluted to ambient

> levels. There would be no mess <SNIP>

> 

> I wonder about that -- presumably an RDD involves

> some sort of explosion.

> Wouldn't that cause at least some part of the HT to

> burn and form HTO ?

> While most of that would also disperse as vapour,

> some might also cause a

> mess.... any guesses how much ?

> By the way, a colleague pointed out that the 55 Ci

> in the exit signs would

> by now have decayed to 25 Ci, due to 14 years of

> decay (12.3 yr half-life).

> 

>  Jaro

> http://www.cns-snc.ca/branches/quebec/quebec.html

> 

> 

>

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=====

+++++++++++++++++++

""A fanatic is one who cannot change his mind and won't change the subject."  Winston Churchill



-- John

John Jacobus, MS

Certified Health Physicist

e-mail:  crispy_bird@yahoo.com



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