WAR: California Man Sets Off Nuclear Alert Detector

A man who had just finished a course of radiation treatment at the hospital triggered a nuclear alert detector on a fire engine. The resulting alarm caused the shutdown a roadway and a resultant search for a nuclear device. The Rancho Santa Fe Fire Protection District purchased the device through a grant from the Homeland Defense Department. The man was briefly detained by police while his story was checked out and released.



Its interesting to see how sensitive those detectors really are. The radiation was really low level and implanted in the mans body. To pick that up, they must be sensitive indeed. I wonder how many fire departments and police are so equipped? It makes sense to me that they should scan in ports and airports with this equipment as well.

No - the tests are not that sensitive. It is fairly common that people receiving medical treatment trip the detectors - the radiation levels in many routine tests and treatments are dangerously high.

This issue periodically hits the press, resulting in lawyers, publicizing of medical radiation dangers, etc.

...By now I assume, most agents have been briefed and know to question suspects about medical procedures. But I wouldn't count on it.


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You gotta feel for the poor guy. He gets zapped with obscene amounts of radiation.
Then he gets the third degree from Homeland Security.
He must have been exhausted by the time he got home.

Not to mention that he probably had a barium enema.


Ouch.

oh....."that" radiation....yeah I swallowed a mini nuke. that I was trying to smuggle in to california.

I thought that when you got nuclear treatment you were meant to stay in a special room until the levels got fairly low

Originally posted by llama009
oh....."that" radiation....yeah I swallowed a mini nuke. that I was trying to smuggle in to california.

I thought that when you got nuclear treatment you were meant to stay in a special room until the levels got fairly low

X-rays, CT scans, angiograms, etc - all put enough radiation in the body to trip the detectors.


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Im at work today and I am going to corral some of the nuclear medicine people and get thier take on it.

Read this all the way through.....Scary "doctors recommend that for the first few months you stay at least six feet away from children and pregnant women"

This may be what set it off.......


www.dreddyclinic.com...

Radioactive seed implants. Radioactive seeds implanted into the prostate have gained popularity in recent years as a treatment for prostate cancer. The implants, also known as brachytherapy, deliver a higher dose of radiation than do external beams, but over a substantially greater period of time.

During the implant procedure — which typically lasts about one to two hours, done under general anesthesia on an outpatient basis — between 40 and 100 rice-sized radioactive seeds are placed in your prostate through ultrasound-guided needles. The exact number of seeds inserted depends on the size of your prostate. The therapy is generally used in men with smaller or moderate-sized prostates with small and lower-grade cancers. Sometimes, hormone therapy is used for a few months to shrink the size of the prostate before seeds are implanted.

The seeds may contain one of several radioactive isotopes — including iodine and palladium. These seeds don't have to be removed after they stop emitting radiation.

Iodine and palladium seeds generally emit radiation that extends only a few millimeters beyond their location. This type of radiation isn't likely to escape your body in significant doses. However, doctors recommend that for the first few months you stay at least six feet away from children and pregnant women, who are especially sensitive to radiation. All radiation inside the pellets is generally exhausted within a year.

Side effects of seed implants are somewhat different from that of external-beam radiation. Seed implants deliver a higher dose of radiation to your urethra, causing urinary signs and symptoms, such as frequent, slower and painful urination, to occur in nearly all men. You may require medication to treat these signs and symptoms, and some men require medications or the use of intermittent self-catheterization to help them urinate.

Urinary symptoms tend to be more severe and longer lasting with seed implants than with external-beam radiation. Rectal symptoms, however, may be less frequent and less severe. Some men experience impotence due to radioactive seed implants.