Re: PS. Chechenian theft of cobalt 60

["Busby, Bruce" <bab1303@doh.wa.gov>]

>"one million becquerel - enough 
>to contaminate a whole town area".


A MBq would only be 27 uCi, which would be less than a microgram of 
Cobalt (note though, all calculations done on sliderule and abacus and 
written on the back of a shovel with coal , I know how some radsafers 
dislike computer programs).  Seems unlikely that this amount would cause 
any deaths or be able to "contaminate" large areas much.  


--------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce A. Busby    -     Radiation Health Physicist
W- bab1303@doh.wa.gov      H-babusby@aol.com
Rad Prot. Div. - Dept. of Health - Washington State
7171 Cleanwater Lane, Bldg. 5   Olympia, WA  98504

---------------------------------------------------------------

************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html