When atomic scientists think about the hazards of radioactivity, they get the jitters. "Hot" (radioactive) atoms have already caused plenty of trouble in laboratories. At one university, two entire buildings have been so radioactivated that they can no longer be used for atomic work; at another center, a researcher in one afternoon infected the laboratory so badly that the walls had to be taken down and replaced.
In spite of such mishaps, scientists have so far kept things pretty well under control. Recently they got together at the Atomic Energy Commission's Brookhaven (Long Island) Laboratory to do some long-range worrying. The Associated...
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