Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: [Phys-L] Nuclear Waste Incident New Mexico.



True, many of the people on phys-l will understand what needs to be known before a measurement of 15 cpm can be interpreted. I only caution that this is a public forum. Do you have a normal background count rate for this detector? Can you share a few days log of typical count rate data?

If normal background is 1 cpm, then this could be alarming. If normal background is 14 cpm… then we need a much better statistical sample before we can say that any effect has been noted.

Please keep the experiment running. I still doubt that you will see anything. But it would be fascinating if you are able to find something!

Paul


On Feb 24, 2014, at 11:43 AM, brian whatcott <betwys1@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

The US WIPP has been in operation since 1998. This incident has provoked a three week shutdown before probable cause can be determined. Where some waste needs a one hundred fifty year holding time before final disposition, this accident rate is not particularly encouraging in my view. As to alarming people with a spot count of 15cpm, I seem to recall that fifteen years ago, when a list member mentioned his record high count from a filter aspirator of several thousand cpm above background, nobody seemed particularly disturbed.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK