Re: DECAY-IN-STORAGE - An Unrelated Anectode

["Patrick D. Beyer" <pbeyer@post.its.mcw.edu>]

Another NORM Thorium antedocte: We got a call last year from the County
Emergency government. It seemed that a radiation detector at a metal
recycling facility was set off by an old incinerator that some one was
trying to sell to them. After calling 911 and getting two engine companies
and the Hazmat Team from the Fire Department, plus 5 + Police squads, the
DA (?), and all the local news people, they called Us because the county
EMS base knew we calibrated thier GM counters once a year (great referral,
Huh).  One of our staff went down there from home and was going to use the
fire department GM counters. Well they were the old CD type out of the
basement of some long lost public edifice and the batteries were so
corroded that you couldn't open the box (It also read out in R). So I went
down there (4:30 on a Thurs, I was meeting the wife for dinner and was
leaving on vacation, as i always am when something happens) with our
counters, checked for and readings at 50m, then 25, then we walked right
up to it, nothing. So I crawled up in the truck, still nothing. We
eventually ended up inside the fire box an could just barely get a reading
2x background. Well, being research types and not accostomed to this
environmental stuff, it took us until 9:00 pm (and after talking to the
NRC) to figure out it was naturally occuring thorium in the fire brick. I
could see that the DA was disappointed because he wanted to arrest someone
for illegally burning radioactive materials ( where he got that one i
don't know). It ended up after talking to the company that thier detection
equipoment was set at not 2x background but at 20% above!!! The only thing
good about the whole thing was that I got to ride in a Sheriffs squad and
a Fire truck (Its those little things in life!!!). Now I'm just waiting 
for someone to do an I-131 therapy on a cat, so i can go to the dump 
and find some "hot" kitty litter!!!!