Re: Why a "pig"?

["Bass, Billy G." <bgb3@mhg.edu>]

Many years ago, at the dawn of the atomic age, radioactive materials were 
stored in very large steel and lead devices that closely resembled that 
familiar farm animal we affectionaltely call a pig.  The name has stuck 
through the years even though the shielded devices we see today for the 
mostly low energy gamma emitters do not resemble the older shielded 
containers.

Bill Bass
Washington Hosp. Ctr.
 ----------
From: radsafe%romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: Re: Why a "pig"?
Date: Wednesday, October 01, 1997 5:06PM

Al Castellane wrote:
>
> I was recently asked by a lab tech why we call lead storage containers
"pigs"?
> I honestly didn't know. Does anyone know, as Paul Harvey says "the rest of
the
> story?"
>
> Thanks in advance for the insight.
>
> Al Castellane
> Oregon Health Sciences University
> Portland, Or
> castella@ohsu.edu


Because being part of the Nuke-Lee-Are family we all started out on the
farm!  We think of nuclear cross sections in terms of Barns, we "milk"
technitium generators (Even the high-yield ones from Mallinckrodt are
called "Killer Cows").  And cooling on the kitchen windowsill is the
Cutie-Pie ion chamber!

The real reason?  As usual I am clueless except to think that most
everyone can relate to the farm.  Farms and cows ar funny, just ask Gary
Larson!!!

And just to further cause thought, what is the real meaning of SCRAM?
Hmmmmmmm???????????
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