Gothamist: Massive Terror Drill Successfully Detects Nuclear Threat

NannyState

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:24:40 -0500

Supposedly, Los Alamos Labs developed a sophisticated, handheld detector using a nanophosphor compund scintillator (I'm not that smart, I just Googled it) which replaces a unit with a single germanium crystal that could detect radiation masked by a medical instrument. They claim that even shielded ratioactive material can be detected. My problem is the "handheld" part. Human factor applicable.

Spiritof76

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:11:34 -0500

It's fairly easy to detect something when you know it's out there. The acid test will be if it ever finds the real thing, especially if the terrorists are smart enough to keep it in a shielded container.

NannyState

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:45:06 -0500

^Thank you. All the money and high technology devoted to detecting a threat can be totally undone simply by one jaded officer.

interlard

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:15:30 -0500

So as long as these two boats can be within 1/2 mile of everything in New York harbor, we're safe? MY friend was stopped a few years ago at one of the tunnels. The police said her car set the radiation detector off. She had nothing, of course. Oh, they said, it must have been someone else. Never mind.

thefacts

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:56:17 -0500

My friend was stopped and questioned at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal because radiation detectors were triggered by the radioactive iodine she had consumed to diagnose a thyroid condition.