Transporting a nuclear gage
Transporting a nuclear gage
(OP)
Is it safe to transport a nuclear gage (in it's case) in a mini-van? There are no barriers, is that ok? It's a new company vehicle, we've alwaysed used full size trucks and had them as far away as possible. Will the mini-van be safe?





RE: Transporting a nuclear gage
RE: Transporting a nuclear gage
It is unlikely that radiation from any of the gauge sources will travel beyond the protective case (you do transport it in the case, right?).
To me the bigger issue is that you still need to secure the case inside the van (positive control), just as you would inside a pickup truck bed to prevent the case from shifting excessively during transport.
Jeff
RE: Transporting a nuclear gage
other issue to look into: do you need to chain it down as well as secure it from moving, or does a locked vehicle meet your security requirements.
also, make sure you drop of the gauge before you pick up the kids from soccer
RE: Transporting a nuclear gage
RE: Transporting a nuclear gage
The reason for chaining the case down is to prevent it from being "thrown out" of the truck bed during an accident, and to prevent theft of the gauge (and case) from a typically open truck bed (truck bed caps don't do much, if anything, to mitigate either of these problems).
Unless the case is stored for transport in the locked "boot"/trunk of a car (i.e., not readily accessible to theft nor able to shift about during transport), I would personally make an effort to at least tie the case down inside a van to a secure anchorage point to prevent it from moving around.
Due to reports of recent losses (in the past year or so) of gauges that I am aware of, the various state regulatory agencies take such losses of radioactive material very seriously indeed and can get quite animated.
Jeff
RE: Transporting a nuclear gage
RE: Transporting a nuclear gage
The first 2 questions when you report a lost gauge are:
Is the case locked?
Was it chained down?
That happened before people were scared of people building dirty bombs. If it was a tech in my old company, it would have to be chained down even if they show up in an m2 bradley. one week with a sand-cone and the chain looks a lot more convenient ;)