Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch Preschooler has to eat chicken nuggets instead of mom's meal »

Wanted: Small Amounts of Plutonium

US agency ferrets out unused radioactive sources

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 3, 2009 3:47 PM CST
Email

(Newser) – The country is crawling with unused radioactive material, and it’s up to the little-known National Nuclear Security Administration to dispose of it, the Los Angeles Times reports. They're not after warheads, but small amounts of plutonium used in medical and technological pursuits in more than 130 countries, as even the tiniest sample could make its way into a dirty bomb.

“The world is more dangerous today than when Russia had missiles pointing at us and we had missiles pointed at Russia,” said an agency official. Though the NNSA routinely—and without cost to the companies seeking disposal—removes battery-size samples with just latex gloves as protection, the scale of the operation is staggering. In 12 years, more than 20,600 radioactive sources have been retrieved in the US alone, which the agency says justifies the program’s $15 million price tag.

The NNSA usually doesn't use this sort of protection.
The NNSA usually doesn't use this sort of protection.   (AP Photo)
Waste is secured inside steel drums and encased in concrete vaults. The NNSA stores all its material at a lab in Los Alamos, NM.
Waste is secured inside steel drums and encased in concrete vaults. The NNSA stores all its material at a lab in Los Alamos, NM.   (AP Photo)
A 55-gallon drum containing radioactive waste.
A 55-gallon drum containing radioactive waste.   (Getty Images)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

This type of material you saw today is one that can make a dirty bomb. One reason we're so scared is there is a lot of this material around the United States.
- Kenneth Baker, NNSA

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 2 comments
Zebraone
Mar 4, 2009 6:58 AM CST
I have an old wrist watch that still glos in the dark!~~~ Want it? Jeeze!!!
Observer
Mar 3, 2009 5:23 AM CST
Heck -- what's a little Cesium, Plutonium or Radium among friends. This just goes to show how careless and threatening big companies are. Where did this lethal crap come from? Guess! Kerr Mcgee, GE, the DOE, Bechtel? Who knows. But there is a handy little resource guide at http://www.chemcases.com/nuclear/nc-09.htm And we consider ourselves safe. Right. Don't worry the decontamination units are standing by.

The agency's homepage
NNSA

In Missouri, material turns up in barns
St. Joe News

US • Health

 
medicine • security • dirty bomb • uranium • plutonium • radioactive isotopes • National Nuclear Security Administration

More Newser Stories

Iran Offers US Meeting With Nuke Experts

New Drug Protects Body From Radiation

Russia Gives Iran Nuclear Fuel
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne