September 26, 2012 - Agence France Presse -
Painter causes court scene with radioactive paint - A French painter and peace activist triggered a security scare when he smashed a glass container with a slightly radioactive pigment in a courthouse, calling the act "performance art". A response team for nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical emergencies was called, one floor of the Lyon court house evacuated and about 50 people checked for radiation exposure, all negative. Claiming to promote world peace, the man smashed a display case with a glass front, releasing pigments of autunite, a greenish fluorescent mineral, Lyon firefighter Colonel Bertrand Kaiser told AFP. This "caused a minor panic," he said, adding that one floor of the courthouse was evacuated. The man, who had been involved in a commercial court case, was arrested. The material was taken for analysis by the Nuclear Safety Authority.
September 26, 2012 - EnvironmentalExpert.com - Radiation Concerns Community after Idaho Wildfire Burns Mining Sites - According to the Huffington Post, a wildfire in east-central Idaho has burned three former mining sites that contain traces of radioactive thorium and uranium. The conflagration is now approaching a fourth mining site, although officials have reported that the risk to human health is low. The radiation in the mines compounds an already difficult situation: the blaze has ignited 333,000 acres of pine woodlands and forced a mandatory evacuation of 400 homes. The sites that pose a potential radiological threat are a former uranium mine and two abandoned gold mines. Officials reported that the surface radiation at these sites measured several times the normal background level. Authorities plan to take air samples to determine if the burning mines have caused radioactive hazards to residents in the area. Exposure to radiation increases one’s risk of developing cancer and may also cause genetic mutations that may be passed on to children.