Rockwall Man Attempts to Construct Nuclear Reactor

[Publius]

ROCKWALL, Texas -- The FBI said it does not plan to file criminal charges against a Rockwall man who tried to build a small version of a nuclear reactor in his house.

The man's experiment drew the attention of federal nuclear investigators. Federal investigators searched his home, but said there was no cause for concern.

The man's family asked NBC 5 not to use his name.

The man is an out-of-work computer whiz who redesigns video games. He said he started studying physics around the eighth grade. He said he is a science buff who is fascinated by nuclear reactions and radiation.

"These things are in your tap water, you know, in the dirt," he said. "You could hold a Geiger counter up to a banana and get a count off of it."

He said he has always been curious about how things work and likes to do his own experiments.

The man decided to create a small-scale nuclear reaction in the same room he plays his video games as his latest experiment.

"People do it in universities all the time," he said. "It's just not usual that somebody does it outside of a university."

Someone alerted federal investigators after he blogged about possessing uranium and wrote that the background radiation in his home had doubled.

Rockwall police, the FBI, and officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission showed up unannounced at his home early Friday morning.

"They're just doing their job," the man said. "That's their job to come and check on stuff like that. When they left, it had been deemed that, you know, everything was within reason."

He said he doesn't plan on doing any more similar experiments.

"I think I'll keep it cool for awhile," he said.

Federal investigators said they found slightly elevated levels of radiation in the house but nothing considered dangerous. They removed the man's experiment at his parents' request.

The FBI said the agency considers the case closed.

& @ experiment removed at parents' request...

"Billy, you throw that nuclear reactor out right now!"

"But moooooooooooooooooom!"

"Don't make me call the nuclear regulatory commission!"

[WickedLou9]

The government should hire that kid right now before he goes rouge.

[Publius]

i find it interesting that based on the wording of article, the FBI had no intention of removing it except that his parents requested it be removed... I'm honestly surprised they didn't shut him down with the quickness and file charges somehow linked with the USA PATRIOT Act.

[7960]

people can claim whatever they want......wouldn't have have had to actually accomplish it for him to be "shut down"?

[Publius]

Originally Posted by 7960

people can claim whatever they want......wouldn't have have had to actually accomplish it for him to be "shut down"?

They discovered elevated radiation levels and obviously he was actually doing SOMETHING or there would have been nothing to remove. I doubt he actually had a working reactor by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm surprised they didn't arrest him for attempting it.

[avsp]

didnr some boy scout try this before & brought out haz mat teams etc

edit
David Hahn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

oddly

Hahn suffered local ignominy, but did attain the rank of Eagle Scout. After dropping out of community college, Hahn joined the , assigned to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise as an ordinary seaman.
Hahn had hoped to pursue a nuclear specialist career, but was not even permitted to tour the reactors[1]. EPA scientists believe that Hahn may have exceeded the lifetime dosage for thorium exposure, but he refused their recommendation that he be examined at , a nuclear science facility near (Silverstein, 1998). Later, Hahn re-enlisted as a .

[7960]

Originally Posted by Publius

They discovered elevated radiation levels

slightly elevated levels.......I could *slightly* elevate the levels in my stone-foundation house by closing all the basement windows and letting the radon build up.

and obviously he was actually doing SOMETHING or there would have been nothing to remove

His mommy asked them to remove his "experiement" so obviously there was something there........what it was wasn't necessarily close to functional or even harmful.

...I'm surprised they didn't arrest him for attempting it.

It's illegal to attempt to build a reactor even if you don't do it? He *said* he had uranium. If he didn't then all he had was a bunch of wires and a box with water. That's not illegal.

[Publius]

Originally Posted by 7960

It's illegal to attempt to build a reactor even if you don't do it? He *said* he had uranium. If he didn't then all he had was a bunch of wires and a box with water. That's not illegal.

actually i wouldn't be surprised if this was the case under the patriot act. "terrorist threat" or some other buzzword-all-encompassing-charge.

[motivez]

Originally Posted by WickedLou9

The government should hire that kid right now before he goes rouge.

Or fuschia, god forbid.

[JaJae]

That's nothing I have a flux capacitor in my garage.

[WickedLou9]

Originally Posted by motivez

Or fuschia, god forbid.

OH MY GOD HE"S GONE TO PLAID!