Man Pulled Over by Cops for Being Too Radioactive

[n2doc]

If you're ever driving around after taking a nuclear stress test, like one man in Connecticut was, you better hope your doctor gave you a note, otherwise you're gonna have a hard time explaining to cops why you set off their nuclear detectors. Oh, and did I mention cops have nuclear detectors???

From the Connecticut Post:

State Police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance confirmed that many of the state police cars have the radioactivity detectors. "It's part of our homeland security operations here," Vance said. "It's just another layer of public safety that we have in this state."

Though the goal of the detectors is to alert police to motorists who might be carrying hazardous materials, cases like Apatow's happen from time to time.

"They're very sensitive," Vance said of the detectors.

The Connecticut post says that the small amount of radioactive material injected into firefighter Mike Apatow was enough to set off the geiger counter in the car of a state trooper, who immediately flagged Apatow down and demanded some answers. Luckily, Apatow's note from the doctor was enough.

http://gizmodo.com/5909616/man-pulled-over-by-cops-for-being-too-radioactive

[Ian David]

1. It's a good thing he didn't have aliens in the trunk.

[FSogol]

4. "Ever been to Utah? Ra-di-a-tion. Yes, indeed. You hear the most outrageous lies about it.

Half-baked goggle-box do-gooders telling everybody it's bad for you. Pernicious nonsense. Everybody could stand a hundred chest X-rays a year. They ought to have them, too. When they canceled the project it almost did me in. One day my mind was full to bursting. The next day - nothing. Swept away. But I'll show them. I had a lobotomy in the end.

Otto: Lobotomy? Isn't that for loonies?

Parnell: Not at all. Friend of mine had one. Designer of the neutron bomb. You ever hear of the neutron bomb? Destroys people - leaves buildings standing. Fits in a suitcase. It's so small, no one knows it's there until - BLAMMO. Eyes melt, skin explodes, everybody dead. So immoral, working on the thing can drive you mad. That's what happened to this friend of mine. So he had a lobotomy. Now he's well again."

- Repo Man

[Edweird]

7. Dayum! I thought I was the only person that liked that movie!

[kentauros]

16. No, there's a few of us out there.

Now we need a poll to determine how many of us thought of Repo Man from the headline alone.

"Eyes melt! Skins explodes! Every body dead!"

[Frank Cannon]

19. That movie was the first thing I thought of when I read the headline.

Haven't seen that film in many years, but it definitely left an impression on me.

[Trillo]

2. The guys medical history and procedures are not the cops business. n/t

[KG]

3. I'm radioactive

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

5. Another example...

...of government waste, nonsense and BS. If the police have a detector that goes positive at that level, it is set to be too sensitive. This is just an example of an unreasonable search.

[d_r]

6. it happened to my mom

she lives in alamogordo nm, and has to go through a border check on the way home from the hospital in el peso tx

[FirstLight]

8. so here's my question...

is this detection for the 'security' of people...i.e. DHS and anti-terrorism ...
OR

Is this detection in place to know if the undercover transports of nuclear waste the govt is using are leaking?

[jimlup]

9. It is for terrorism security...

If the detectors are that sensitive nuclear waste is going to trigger them anyway - even if they are sealed correctly.

[jimlup]

10. I have to say that I'm glad that cops have these and that they are quite sensitive

As someone who has been educated as a physicist I'm concerned about the real potential for nuclear terrorism. That cops can sniff radiation is quite a good thing from my perspective. It means the government is taking its job of protecting its citizens seriously.

[BiggJawn]

11. Wonder what a Tritium gunsight would do to it?

One of the nuclear glow-in-the-dark sights? Or the fancy watch with the Tritium dial?

Bet that'd freak out Barney Fife...

[Sirveri]

21. Tritium paint wouldn't do anything unless you had a lot of it.

Half life is too long and decay energy is too weak for the amount or material in a gun sight/watch. Now radio dyes for cancer treatment, those things are potent. We actually took a gieger counter to a guy who was having this done and pegged the meter. That this guy pegged a meter while driving along doesn't surprise me, what surprises me is that they have the meters.

[BiggJawn]

22. Nothing surprises me about the "Police" any more.

They probably have thermo-image videos of all of us jerkin' off...

Got a Posse Commitatus law that forbids your military from doing police work? then equip and train your "police" like your military...

[ThoughtCriminal]

12. Sir...

Do you know how fast you were decaying?

[Bolo Boffin]

13. DUzy. :D n/t

[HiPointDem]

18. +1

[Canuckistanian]

14. "just another layer of public safety"

Oh really? How many "layers" are there, exactly, considering that this is the first we've heard about this particular "layer"?

[DeSwiss]

15. Homeland Security is monitoring the fallout.....

...from ---->

- No need to worry though. Everything's just fine. Just fine......

K&R

[kentauros]

17. He must have also been listening to Kraftwerk

[Gman]

20. Wait till he drives through a Border Patrol checkpoint

He'll get the surprise of his life.