This is a red herring. The radioactive isotope in the medical device uses a GE-68 pin source is a calibration tool used in PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scanner systems. It is a small, cylindrical source of Ge-68 (a radioactive isotope of germanium) uniformly dispersed in a ceramic medium, surrounded by an outer stainless steel tube, and permanently sealed with end caps.
In order to weaponize it, someone would have to open the capsule up to get at the germanium plug and then mill it into a fine powder which presents all sorts of problems, particularly inhalation risks.
The dust would need to be distributed by drone or explosion dispersal. Ge-68 has a short half life of 271 days. This machine was being decommissioned of the "pit" itself was being moved and awaiting a new pit.
If I were to build a radiological destructive device, this wouldn't be the isotope of choice. However, the more Curies a pit emits, the more dangerous it is to handle.
From my limited knowledge, Ge-68 is about a 2/10 on the radioactive scale. It would take 2 weeks of constant exposure to the pit to reach dangerous exposure levels.
Lol glad someone posted this. It's absolutely improbable an army of "drones" would be activated to "sniff" out a level 3 NRC unreportable source.
What I keep finding interesting is all this talk about radiation sniffing drones. It may exist but I have never heard of or seen such a technology and if it does exist, that would be on the level of advanced technology similar to a "UFO". But this topic is getting tossed around as if it's like totally normal lol.
"From my limited knowledge, Ge-68 is about a 2/10 on the radioactive scale. It would take 2 weeks of constant exposure to the pit to reach dangerous exposure levels"------and you are correct, additionally it would have to be direct constant contact in order to reach this threshold.
Possibly but I highly doubt it. That's a fairly small source and it's low intensity. Additionally what is inside that source is a pill, not a pit fyi. The pill would not require breakdown into fine particles in order to be a "dirty" bomb, that can be achieved under the right thermal and explosive mechanisms but would be limited in damage and affect in contrast. And ultimately the yield would be insignificant unless the intended disaster event from that would be to contaminate to cause ingestion of the particles.
This is a red herring. The radioactive isotope in the medical device uses a GE-68 pin source is a calibration tool used in PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scanner systems. It is a small, cylindrical source of Ge-68 (a radioactive isotope of germanium) uniformly dispersed in a ceramic medium, surrounded by an outer stainless steel tube, and permanently sealed with end caps.
In order to weaponize it, someone would have to open the capsule up to get at the germanium plug and then mill it into a fine powder which presents all sorts of problems, particularly inhalation risks.
The dust would need to be distributed by drone or explosion dispersal. Ge-68 has a short half life of 271 days. This machine was being decommissioned of the "pit" itself was being moved and awaiting a new pit.
If I were to build a radiological destructive device, this wouldn't be the isotope of choice. However, the more Curies a pit emits, the more dangerous it is to handle.
From my limited knowledge, Ge-68 is about a 2/10 on the radioactive scale. It would take 2 weeks of constant exposure to the pit to reach dangerous exposure levels.
Lol glad someone posted this. It's absolutely improbable an army of "drones" would be activated to "sniff" out a level 3 NRC unreportable source.
What I keep finding interesting is all this talk about radiation sniffing drones. It may exist but I have never heard of or seen such a technology and if it does exist, that would be on the level of advanced technology similar to a "UFO". But this topic is getting tossed around as if it's like totally normal lol.
"From my limited knowledge, Ge-68 is about a 2/10 on the radioactive scale. It would take 2 weeks of constant exposure to the pit to reach dangerous exposure levels"------and you are correct, additionally it would have to be direct constant contact in order to reach this threshold.
They would be searching for this: https://radqual.com/product/ge-68-line-source-bm6802-050/
If they are really searching, it's for cesium or stronger. Again, throwing a pit isn't a big deal. It's dispersal that presents challenges.
Possibly but I highly doubt it. That's a fairly small source and it's low intensity. Additionally what is inside that source is a pill, not a pit fyi. The pill would not require breakdown into fine particles in order to be a "dirty" bomb, that can be achieved under the right thermal and explosive mechanisms but would be limited in damage and affect in contrast. And ultimately the yield would be insignificant unless the intended disaster event from that would be to contaminate to cause ingestion of the particles.