[ck2]

Devair Ferreira himself survived despite receiving 7 Gy of radiation.

Whoa. I wonder if some people have genetics making them slightly more tolerant of radiation.

This is a horrifying read too:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_civilian_radiation_acci...

[cstuder]

A notable one (For us): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25

Bad interface design and bad engineering practices leads to multiple deaths.

[twistedpair]

Every see those vertical yellow gateways at border crossings and interstate weigh stations? Those are radiation scanners. Partially to keep terrorists at bay, but also to keep stuff like this at bay. In the 3rd world, this is sadly a frequent occurrence that these materials are used as scrap.

Example detector: http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/jpodocs/repts_te/14400_files/5_13.jpg