Radioactive Material Stolen From Van

There's only a limited amount of radioactive material in the world. Obviously what has happened in that in the distant future, the world has run out of radioactive material. So every now and then a time agent comes back to the 21st century to pinch some in order to use for whatever they use it for in the 39th century. Hence all the disappearances (mentioned above) in the US. Obvious innit?

The iridium hasn't disappeared, it's just been temporally displaced!

If the false flaggers are going to use this in a dirty bomb, they better get on with it. It has a half life of only 73 days. I don't know much about radioactive iridium, but I believe the shorter the half life usually the more energetic the decay process. They mentioned it radiates gamma rays, nasty stuff.

Could this stuff be used to create a dirty bomb?

Lets hope not!

reply to post by CX

Let's hope it's found soon, according to some reports, it is one of the ingredients that can be used for a dirty bomb.

I wouldn't worry about that.... apparently it's iridium with a half-life of only 75 or so days....

So, unless they are staging another false flag terror attack with a dirty bomb, I wouldn't worry about it being weaponized.

If I were one of the detectives on this case I would definitely focus a lot of time on the driver of the van. It doesn't make much sense that the van would be left unattended for someone to have enough time to steal the canister. I don't know the exact rules that the driver or the company have to follow when handling such material, but I can't imagine them not being very strict and focused on keeping the material safe and out of sight of the public. Definitely smells of an inside job here.

Just a thought, but after reading some articles about Muslim fundamentalists in Britain and now the theft of radioactive material, you think they might be behind all this?

Or perhaps someone wants to set an explosive off with this material and blame it on them?

Good another thief glows in the dark.
The cops will not have a hard time finding him.

Thieves steal dangerous stuff all the time but this will light up there night.

I ran on a EMT call out once where a thief was trying out a rifle he stole

He did not check the barrel before loading a round and firing it.

He got his just reward. and was going to be hurting for a long time. in jail.

Originally posted by Xaphan

Originally posted by diddy1234
2. what numb nut wants to take something with a radioactive sticker on it ?

That last part got me thinking... maybe he just thought it was a joke. Sometimes people put stickers on things just for the hell of it.

The article shows this photo...though I'm not sure if it's a photo of the same type of container or not, but if it is, it's obviously more than just a sticker:



Transport of radioactive materials is a lot more common than some people here seem to realize. Nuclear bombs or materials to make them may be transported under high security, but the requirements for transporting things like nuclear materials for medical applications are less stringent.

Sentinel Gamma ray projector 880 Delta is used for industrial applications of gamma radiography to inspect materials and structures in the density range of approximately 2.71 g/cm3 through 8.53 g/cm3. I don't no if a dirty bomb could be made out of it, but I am sure it would detect a metal vault behind concrete. IMO more likely to be an organised criminal gang than a terrorist outfit.

Also pretty sure that this is similar sort of device that turned Robert Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulk.

Are we missing the obvious technical design flaw in their materials handling procedures that this canister doesn't have a GPS locator attached to it?

Can the company in charge of this nuclear stuff make a policy to put GPS locators on their highly toxic and dangerous radioactive material in the future? Thank you.

I swear there is more security for a wad of paper money in a bank than there is for the radioactive material that figuratively fell off a truck in Lancashire.

This thing could go to a dirty bomb but it could also fuel a neutron gun, designed to make people sick at a distance.

I hope it wasn't cobalt. please don't let it be that. That stuff is SO NASTY!. And please, don't let it be a bunch of kids! Whoever was driving that van is going to be having some long sleepless nights. To our friends in the UK, we'll pray this is found recovered soon.

my first thought is that the van driver came upon tough times and arranged to have it 'stolen' AKA supplied it to someone in need.

Honestly doesnt worry me that much. probably just medical/industrial application.

reply to post by Arbitrageur

That looks like a mini safe. It is its own best protection. Deliveries of isotopes to hospitals, cancer treatment centers and stuff are done differently nowadays. They order what they need for any scheduled treatments and it is delivered instead of keeping a store on hand. That is a control measure to keep radioactive materials secure until needed and deliver only the small amount required. That way you see, terrorists can't break into some place and steal a ton of the stuff where it would surely not be guarded as well.

Nobody is going to open that box without a cutting torch or key. A cutting torch would destroy the contents by volatilizing it. I am assuming the key is on the ring in the drivers pocket and the van was left unlocked "for just a moment".

Good luck getting it back. Ransoms don't work anymore, you get caught. Once the thieves figure out it's not a radio or tool box they will throw it away to avoid getting caught with it. it is worthless for their purposes (trading it for dope).

Dude, what is it?
I don't know. Its heavy.
Maybe its got money in it, grab it.

For whatever reason the chemicals were placed there intentionally. Almost like someone wanted to get them stolen.. Tin foil hat on...

-SAP-

I doubt there will be a "dirty bomb", most likely this stuff will probably be sold on the medical black market.

this probably happens more than we think. Why? small amounts of nuclear material is used in certain healthcare treatments. People who do the transporting are not any type of security/police/military. just some dude that works a 9-5 making crappy pay.

how do i know?

I seen them.

This is a place called Bacup we are talking about.
Used to live not far from there.

No need to panic about it being turned into a dirty bomb, or being passed to some terrorist organisation.
If it was stolen by the locals they are probably:

A: Drinking it to see if it gets them drunk.
B: Drinking it to see if gives them super powers.
C: Using the radioactive glow to light up the living room while they play on their XBox

Originally posted by Plumbduff
This is a place called Bacup we are talking about.
Used to live not far from there.

No need to panic about it being turned into a dirty bomb, or being passed to some terrorist organisation.
If it was stolen by the locals they are probably:

A: Drinking it to see if it gets them drunk.
B: Drinking it to see if gives them super powers.
C: Using the radioactive glow to light up the living room while they play on their XBox

I'll second that.

You can have stuff stolen from your car, if you are just passing through.

If the thieves don't catch the news on TV, they will most likely have it posted ion ebay already.

And they won't be able to read the label, but the badge looks cool.

Originally posted by CarbonBase
I hope it wasn't cobalt. please don't let it be that. That stuff is SO NASTY!. And please, don't let it be a bunch of kids! Whoever was driving that van is going to be having some long sleepless nights. To our friends in the UK, we'll pray this is found recovered soon.

You didn't read the linked article. It says the material in the cannister is Iridium 192, not cobalt 60. This item is used in industrial NDT (non-destructive test) of weld joints that require the highest level of quality we can achieve. The types of weld joints that require the least amount of internal flaws possible. It is called radiography, and is similar to an x-ray of your body to look inside at what cannot be seen from the outside. There are many types of weld joints, both commmercial and military, that require such a high level of quality.

Let me preface this by stating I am not in the radiography industry but have had some training relative to the safety aspect of this topic.

The radioactive source inside this cannister is much smaller than the cannister itself...about the size of a pencil eraser, maybe slightly larger.... attached to a device similar to a drain snake...atleast that is the case with ones with which I am familiar. This type of NDT is normally accomplished at times when the least number of people are around for obvious reasons. The "pill" inside is highly radioactive and can cause severe skin burns and internal cell damage if exposed for a period time, although I do not know what that time frame is. Like I said, I am not a radiography technician. This is the information I recieved in my basic training with respect to this type of NDT.

While not good for this pill to be in an uncontrolled area, if the article is correct, it has a short half-life. It would be interesting to understand to whom it belongs, and what their procedures are for its control.

If anyone on ATS works in this industry reads this, please feel free to correct anything I have written that is not accurate.

reply to post by CX


Lets keep this in perspective people. This was a small canister of Iridium 192 which can be used for industrial purposes. Which, given that it was stolen from a small Peugeot van, is most likely exactly what it was being used for.

Yes, it is radioactive but then so is lots of stuff. For me, this is a thief that doesn't know what they have stolen - rather than anything sinister.