Nuclear mattersNo, a Boy Scout cannot build a backyard nuclear reactor
Dirty bombs are easy to build and only require strapping explosives to radioactive material; in counter-terrorism circles there is a myth that in 1995 a Boy Scout was able to assemble enough radioactive materials to build a nuclear reactor in his backyard in Michigan by gathering all of his materials from common household items; he dismantled lanterns to obtain Thorium, smoke detectors for Americium, and old clock dials for Radium; analysts say that it would take material from roughly two million smoke detectors to build a dirty bomb that would cause any damage
Counter-terrorism officials have long feared that terrorists would detonate a dirty bomb killing hundreds and sending a toxic cloud of radioactive material into the air.
While not as deadly as an atomic weapon, they are far easier to build. Making one of these bombs is as simple as strapping explosives to radioactive material, and al Qaeda has publicly announced that it was seeking to obtain nuclear materials.
National security officials and law enforcement agents have sought to safeguard the world’s supply of radioactive materials, but in counter-terrorism circles there is a myth that in 1995 a Boy Scout was able to assemble enough radioactive materials to build a nuclear reactor in his backyard in Michigan. PBS decided to investigate this myth and get the facts behind the story.
In 1995 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency crews, clad in protective suits, descended upon the quiet suburb of Golf Manor, Michigan to dismantle and decontaminate the beginnings of a rudimentary nuclear breeder reactor.
The reactor was built by seventeen year old David Hahn, who was an aspiring Eagle Scout on a quest to earn his atomic energy merit badge when he got carried away.
The assignment called for the Scout to make a model nuclear reactor out of straws and matches, but Hahn, who had long been fascinated by radioactive materials and science, wanted to build the real thing.
He set about gathering as much radioactive material as he could.
All of his materials were found in common household items. He dismantled lanterns to obtain Thorium, smoke detectors for Americium, and old clock dials for Radium.
The Boy Scout spent eight to ten hours a day trying to build the reactor in an attempt to transform one element to the next and believes that he may have done it, but is not sure.
He decided to stop his experiment before things progressed too far and was in the process of carting off the dangerous materials when he was stopped by the police. The EPA quickly descended on his parent’s home and decontaminated the area, taking his materials and much of the dirt in his backyard to a radioactive waste dump in Utah.
Hahn was never charged as he did not break any laws and did not mean any harm.
Far from showcasing the ease with which terrorists can gather radioactive materials from household items, Hahn says that it was very difficult to accumulate all the smoke detectors, lanterns, and old clocks.
Analysts say that it would take material from roughly two million smoke detectors to build a dirty bomb that would cause any damage.
Hahn went on to serve in the military as a Marine and an enlisted member of the Navy. With the Navy he became the helmsman of the USS Enterprise, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
Hahn’s story is the subject of a book, The Radioactive Boy Scout.
