RADIATION COMPARED
The slug of depleted uranium (DU) that we prepared and that ABC News smuggled past portal monitors is shown below. It is a good substitute for testing whether the monitors could detect highly enriched uranium (HEU) because the radiation signal from uncontaminated DU, when shielded inside a cargo container, is actually greater than that from uncontaminated HEU.
Calculated Dose Rate (microrad/hour)
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Two centimeters away, when wrapped in three millimeters of lead:
DU: 1,500
HEU: 100
Calculated Dose Rate (microrad/hour)
Two meters away, for same samples:
DU: 1.0
HEU: 0.1
NATURAL BACKGROUND: 2–10
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