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Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

abc.net.au

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Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#181

Post by avereveard »

defrost wrote: post #165
avereveard wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you trying to hold me personally responsible for other people accountability is at a foundamental level a repeat of the same deflection tactic as expressed above, and warrants a repeat of the same general concept: I do not bear any responsability in the atrocities that far away government allow to be inflicted on their own populace, and I do not profit from them, and the accountability rest on the government of the o…

[flagged]

...you cannot downvote replies here, you're literally launching baseless accusations.

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#182

Post by justusthane »

chmod600 wrote: post #148
Waterluvian wrote: post #145

I don’t understand how one capsule of that size could fall off a truck without coming with a lot of other stuff too. What was the cargo configuration of this transport?

I assume the capsule was in some large equipment in a chamber, and the chamber wasn't closed properly, and it rattled its way out, bumped off the truck onto the road, and was kicked to the side either by that truck or some other vehicle.

Yes, that's basically exactly what happened. I'm not digging up the previous piece I read (sorry), so I may be slightly misstating this, but basically the capsule was inside a sensor which was inside a wooden box bolted to the bed of the truck. On the 1600km of rough roads, the sensor vibrated to pieces, the capsule fell out, one of the bolts holding the box down also vibrated free, and the capsule fell down through the bolt hole. Pretty crazy.

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#183

Post by Waterluvian »

justusthane wrote: post #182
chmod600 wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assume the capsule was in some large equipment in a chamber, and the chamber wasn't closed properly, and it rattled its way out, bumped off the truck onto the road, and was kicked to the side either by that truck or some other vehicle.

Yes, that's basically exactly what happened. I'm not digging up the previous piece I read (sorry), so I may be slightly misstating this, but basically the capsule was inside a sensor which was inside a wooden box bolted to the bed of the truck. On the 1600km of rough roads, the sensor vibrated to pieces, the capsule fell out, one of the bolts holding the box down also vibrated free, and the capsule fell down through…

Wow. That’s wild.

It reminds me of this experience I occasionally have where something in my home gets lost in the least believable of ways, so we’re hunting for something we’ll never find. One of my kids favourite hats got lost and we looked everywhere including at school. Found it in a Halloween storage bin in the attic. Still no clue what series of events led to that.

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#184

Post by skankenstein »

Waterluvian wrote: post #145

I don’t understand how one capsule of that size could fall off a truck without coming with a lot of other stuff too. What was the cargo configuration of this transport?

Yeah it's a bit odd but I'm sure a lot falls of the back of trucks here just like many other places.

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#185

Post by mardifoufs »

perihelions wrote: post #101

Is the idea of blameless postmortem that exotic in the general public? If I hear that a critical safety system failed, my first association isn't "find the individual closest to responsibility, and look into whether a criminal prosecution is feasible". - "We have the ability to prosecute under the radiation safety act and we will certainly look at such prosecutions, and we've done that in the past," [Chief Health Off…

That's an especially prevalent attitude in Australia for some reason. Even the US usually leaves the aggressive prosecution tough guy threats to prosecutors/police instead of politicians.

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#186

Post by mschuster91 »

defrost wrote: post #169
mschuster91 wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Radiation is not "spread" in the manner you are suggesting. The only affect on passers-by would be transient exposure - less than ideal, but not a fatal risk. The problem is secondary irradiation. Everything contaminated by exposure - even a car - has to be taken, destroyed and the waste dealt with as radioactive waste.

> Everything contaminated by exposure ... Wow. Like, you mean the entire 800 million tonnes of iron ore per annum delibrately exposed to radiation guages such as this all needs to be treated as radioactive waste? Even after it's been turned to steel and worked into bridges, building, cars, etc? I hadn't realised things were that serious :/ Still, I guess reality is in the middle ground and there are degrees to contam…

> Even after it's been turned to steel and worked into bridges, building, cars, etc?

For that reason metal recyclers run routine radiation scans on all incoming materials before contaminated material enters the supply chain [1][2]. And there have been a number of such incidents[3][4].

[1] https://www.epa.gov/radtown/radioactive-material-scrap-metal

[2] https://www.hse.gov.uk/waste/radioactive-contamination.htm

[3] https://k1project.columbia.edu/a11

[4] https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/radioactive-scrap-thr...

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#187

Post by mulmen »

twawaaay wrote: post #166
perihelions wrote: post #101

Is the idea of blameless postmortem that exotic in the general public? If I hear that a critical safety system failed, my first association isn't "find the individual closest to responsibility, and look into whether a criminal prosecution is feasible". - "We have the ability to prosecute under the radiation safety act and we will certainly look at such prosecutions, and we've done that in the past," [Chief Health Off…

Yeah, exactly. What an engineer thinks: "Why not attach this thing to a beacon so that it can't be lost?" What everybody else thinks: "Why not persecute everybody responsible to the fullest possible extent?" Which is just our reptilian brain looking for somebody to blame but isn't actually helping anything.

> "Why not attach this thing to a beacon so that it can't be lost?"

It’s literally radioactive. It is a beacon.

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#188

Post by puffoflogic »

mschuster91 wrote: post #168
puffoflogic wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> spreading radiation everywhere they go. Radiation is not "spread" in the manner you are suggesting. The only affect on passers-by would be transient exposure - less than ideal, but not a fatal risk. If the capsule were breached and radioactive material were spread, then that would be a disaster posing actual risk to the public at large.

> Radiation is not "spread" in the manner you are suggesting. The only affect on passers-by would be transient exposure - less than ideal, but not a fatal risk. The problem is secondary irradiation. Everything contaminated by exposure - even a car - has to be taken, destroyed and the waste dealt with as radioactive waste.

Food is regularly irradiated to make it safe.

You are regularly irradiated at the dentist, the hospital, in a plane, and in the produce aisle.

You have no idea what you're talking about, and you are the problem.

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#189

Post by [deleted] »

JauntyHatAngle wrote: post #103
perihelions wrote: post #101

Is the idea of blameless postmortem that exotic in the general public? If I hear that a critical safety system failed, my first association isn't "find the individual closest to responsibility, and look into whether a criminal prosecution is feasible". - "We have the ability to prosecute under the radiation safety act and we will certainly look at such prosecutions, and we've done that in the past," [Chief Health Off…

I suspect he is talking about fining the company for a safety lapse, not individuals.

[deleted]

Re: Missing radioactive capsule found in WA outback after frantic search

#190

Post by mulmen »

JauntyHatAngle wrote: post #103
perihelions wrote: post #101

Is the idea of blameless postmortem that exotic in the general public? If I hear that a critical safety system failed, my first association isn't "find the individual closest to responsibility, and look into whether a criminal prosecution is feasible". - "We have the ability to prosecute under the radiation safety act and we will certainly look at such prosecutions, and we've done that in the past," [Chief Health Off…

I suspect he is talking about fining the company for a safety lapse, not individuals.

The same incentives apply.
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