Fox
Did you think the worst thing a college could lose is your transcripts? You would be incorrect because the worst thing a college could lose is weapons-grade plutonium. Idaho State University lost enough weapons-grade plutonium that it could be used to create a dirty bomb. But we’re told not to freak out because it’s not enough to make a nuclear weapon. Well, that’s a relief. Just worry about a dirty bomb slowly killing people.
On Friday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that Idaho State University had lost the radioactive plutonium that was said to be the size of a U.S. quarter. Last October, the NRC was notified by someone at the school who informed the organization of an event “involving a lost sealed source containing special nuclear material.” Sure enough, the NRC did an inventory checkup, and there were 13 pieces of plutonium that weighed a gram in stock when there was previously 14 pieces. That’s probably enough plutonium to generate 1.21 gigawatts.
The crazy part is that it’s apparently no big deal if you lose weapons-grade plutonium because the fine for doing so is a mere $8,500. We’re talking plutonium here, not misplacing your car keys. Officials have searched the campus but could not find the missing plutonium.
The university says that the missing plutonium isotope (Pu-239) was on campus between 2003-2004 before it went missing. The last document mentioning the missing plutonium is dated November 23, 2003. The document said the radioactive material was “pending disposal of the next waste shipment,” and was supposed to be returned to the Idaho National Laboratory.
“Unfortunately, because there was a lack of sufficient historical records to demonstrate the disposal pathway employed in 2003, the source in question had to be listed as missing,” said Dr. Cornelis Van der Schyf, vice president for research at the university. “The radioactive source in question poses no direct health issue or risk to public safety.”
The plutonium was loaned to the university in 1991. It was being used to develop ways to make sure that nuclear waste containers weren’t leaking and to find ways to detect radioactive material being brought into the U.S. following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the school said. The university officials plan to return the school’s remaining plutonium to the Energy Department, which is probably a great idea.
So hopefully this is merely just an accounting error and not the Libyans getting payback. But just to be on the safe side, Idaho State may want to look at their student records to see if anyone named “Doc Brown” enrolled in their university in the last two decades.
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[NYP]