[bamboozled]

If a critter moved it or ate it then it's probably gone forever. At a distance of 1 meter the dose rate from that source is already not extremely hazardous unless a person were exposed for an extended period of time (like a full day or two). Getting closer, like putting it directly against your torso, would mean serious health effects in a matter of minutes.

Bit of contradiction in your statement here? If putting it against your torso would mean serious health effects in minutes, how would a critter "eat" it and get more than a few meters away?

I guess by minutes you mean tens of minutes?

[elromulous]

Not op, or an expert on radiation poisoning, but, one can receive a lethal dose of radiation in an instant (and be condemned to certain death) but not die for weeks.

Credentials: I've read about the demon core[0] and watched Chernobyl on HBO.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_core

[Hamuko]

Or months if your family/the doctors prolong your suffering.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokaimura_nuclear_accidents#Im...

[qikInNdOutReply]

The family was just clueless and it would have been the job of the doctors to tell them the truth. But they wanted to use the rare case for some scientific glory.

[brutusborn]

Wikipedia says his wife wanted him to see the year 2000. I suspect doctors just followed family orders, not much glory in keeping an almost-corpse alive.

[qikInNdOutReply]

Ah, doctor is a trained professional, who is forced to uphold the truth and stand up as the agent of reason against delusional personal wishes of humans in denial. You can not see the year 2000 with shredded dna. They knew, they did not insist, they created the ilusion of possible cure and healing for what was essentially a hospice cure.

They created a situation, were they applied cures that could not work to a patient that wanted to die. And they knew. Let those monsters not be hidden behind the cluelessness of the family.

Clinging to life at all costs, until there is nothing left, but a heap of hellish pain and machines, a good doctor will, should & must prevent this.

[brutusborn]

I agree that unnecessary suffering should be prevented, however I see no evidence that the family was under any illusion.

[Salgat]

Ah yes the man with no DNA. Stuff of nightmares.

[elromulous]

P.s. Also see this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25

[SideburnsOfDoom]

> If putting it against your torso would mean serious health effects in minutes, how would a critter "eat" it and get more than a few meters away?

a) by moving more than 1 meter per minute.

b) You should not read "serious health effects" as "instant death" where radiation is concerned. There is usually a lag time between radiation exposure and consequences. At low doses, this is "likely cancer, years later". But I think you'd still call that "serious health effects" if it happened to you.

At higher doses the consequences are "radiation sickness, days or hours later", which is plenty of time to disperse the source.

[BetterGeiger]

Do you think animals can only move a meter per minute!??

First of all, this part is not necessarily common knowledge but serious health effects does not mean incapacitated, and in the case of radiation it usually means effects that come on in the days/weeks following exposure, at least for humans. Animals can have different radio-sensitivity.

Regardless of that, a critter could easily travel a few hundred meters or more in a matter of minutes!! The search area then grows enormously. Total game changer.

[Always42]

Playing devils advocate, what if a bird grabs it and fly's 1000 meters before death?

[CommitSyn]

Then hopefully they don't take it to their nest next to your window.

[sogen]

Reminded me of the ending scene of The Thing.