An Energy Department helicopter is flying along the route of the Monday Marathon today. As they do every year a few days before the Boston Marathon route, the crew is recording background radiation levels so they have a baseline to compare to should the worst happen.
Here it is in action:
It was so low that I thought it was medflight at first, but it kept circling. Guess it’s pre-marathon surveillance. @universalhub pic.twitter.com/5IVmFtPztp
— Shamus (@ShamusJP) October 8, 2021
Spotted on Newbury St.! Is this the same flight? Interesting to learn about the radiological survey - when did that start? pic.twitter.com/RvrYteCvK8
— Matthew Brooks (@MQBrooks) October 8, 2021
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Comments
I guess my morning coffee
By ZachAndTired
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 10:48am
I guess my morning coffee hasn't kicked in yet, because I don't understand what this is for. Are they preparing for the possibility of somebody nuking the marathon or something?
Yes
By brianjdamico
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 11:03am
Radiation exists naturally, so knowing what the radiation looks like before a security risk event (background surveying), then you will be any to tell if, when and where any new radiation shows up.
Presumably they would notice anything exceptionally out of the ordinary for background radiation levels if something were already here, too.
https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/aerial-measuring-syste...
Gotcha, that makes sense.
By ZachAndTired
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 11:10am
Gotcha, that makes sense. Thanks!
Dirty bomb
By MrZip
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 1:45pm
n/t
Also
By ShamusJP
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 1:59pm
There are lots of places that use nuclear radiation in the city. Hospitals, research facilities, etc.
They may change from year to year, so they need to get new base readings.
South End
By Lanny Budd
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 5:07pm
There is a company on Albany Street that has on site more radioactive material than any place in the country that is not a nuclear power plant. They do not advertise this, obviously.
MIT
By anon
Sat, 10/09/2021 - 6:07am
MIT has an experimental nuclear reactor in Cambridge, in plain view right off Mass Ave. What could possibly go wrong?
More than the Marathon route
By downtown-anon
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 12:11pm
I am more than 2 miles from the finish line and they did two passes overhead. Near MGH, so maybe just covering the route from the finish line to there.
They are covering a large area
By brianjdamico
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 12:20pm
Still flying now, doing the stretch from the reservoir in Chestnut Hill through Fenway towards those final turns to the finish line.
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N412DE/history...
Does radiation really vary much year to year?
By ST
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 12:20pm
I can see why having a baseline value could potentially be useful if there was a nuclear incident. But they must have a lot of years worth of data at this point - does it really need to be remeasured every year?
Though I wouldn’t nominate this year to skip it, since October baseline might (?) be different from April.
Well
By Sock_Puppet
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 1:10pm
2020 was bananas…
I was in Coolidge Corner around 12:30….
By Ward8Mahatma
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 1:17pm
..,. as it buzzed low over Beacon Street to the great astonishment and confusion of the lunchtime crowd out and about or waiting for the trolley
Again?
By ShamusJP
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 1:56pm
WE ARE TIRED OF SEEING SHAMUS MOYNIHAN NAME EVERYWHERE!!
?? Are you some kind of …
By Lee
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 2:18pm
… attention seeking nobody?
Yes
By ShamusJP
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 5:26pm
Yes
What if we turn our
By anon
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 1:59pm
What if we turn our microwaves on at the same time?
It has been passing over …
By Lee
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 2:22pm
… the South End and Chinatown since about 10am. Very annoying but necessary, I suppose.
Thanks for reporting this and saving me a 311 call!
Why do radiation measurements
By anon
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 2:45pm
Why do radiation measurements have to be relative to a baseline?
What would happen if they just measured for dangerous levels on an absolute scale? False positives? False negatives?
Because there's natural radioactivity
By Tim Mc.
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 6:47pm
such as in the granite curbs and whatnot, and an evildoer's nuclear stash might not stand out all that much from the background, especially if they try to shield it.
...but probably it's because someone got fancy equipment and wants an excuse to run their helicopter around and justify their budget.
I wondered why a helicopter was …
By Lee
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 8:35pm
… necessary for this. Why not a vehicle at street level that would be far less disruptive than a helicopter? I think you provided the answer.
Huh
By brianjdamico
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 8:41pm
How you going to get a downward view on the earth from street level?
And when the shit hits the fan, you might not be able to drive that same truck down that street anymore so your street level background is useless.
I wondered why a helicopter was …
By Lee
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 8:35pm
… necessary for this. Why not a vehicle at street level that would be far less disruptive than a helicopter? I think you provided the answer.
So that they can collect data
By djheini
Fri, 10/08/2021 - 7:59pm
So that they can collect data after an incident and compare to eliminate natural sources and see exactly where new sources are coming from. They also use the data they collect for trainings.
From an article from 2015's collections:
https://www.hstoday.us/federal-pages/dhs/nnsa-cond...
So that they can collect data
By anon
Sat, 10/09/2021 - 12:51pm
So that they can collect data and annoy you at the same time.
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