David Hahn
David Charles Hahn (October 30, 1976 - September 27, 2016) was an American who attempted to build a homemade neutron source at the age of 17. He is sometimes called the "Radioactive Boy Scout" or the "Nuclear Boy Scout".
He was a scout in the Boy Scouts of America. Hahn did his experiments without anyone knowing. He did them in a backyard shed at his mother's house in Commerce Township, Michigan. While he never actually was able to build a reactor (what he built was a neutron source), Hahn got the attention of local police when he was stopped for a different reason. The police found things in his vehicle that troubled them. He warned that it was radioactive. His mother's property was cleaned up by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ten months later as a Superfund cleanup site. Hahn attained Eagle Scout rank shortly after his lab was dismantled.
Background
Hahn was born in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Creation of the neutron source
Hahn was a Boy Scout. He was interested in chemistry. He spent years doing amateur chemistry experiments. Those experiments sometimes made small explosions. He was inspired by reading The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments, and he tried to get samples of every element in the periodic table. This included the radioactive ones. He later received a merit badge in Atomic Energy. He became interested with the idea of building a breeder reactor in his home. Hahn got a lot of radioactive material by collecting small amounts from household products. It included things such as americium from smoke detectors, thorium from camping lantern mantles, radium from clocks, and tritium from gunsights. His "reactor" was a bored-out block of lead, and he used lithium from $1,000 worth of bought batteries to purify the thorium ash using a Bunsen burner.
FBI Investigation
On April 23, 2007, the FBI heard that Hahn may have a second breeder reactor in his freezer. The FBI contacted him via telephone. Hahn said that he did not have any radioactive material. The FBI decided he was not a terrorist threat. However, they decided to do a personal interview. During a May 16, 2007 interview at an FBI office, investigators asked Hahn about flyers that he had sent out promoting his book and upcoming film. They also asked about him stealing tires and rims from a vehicle before he joined Navy service. They also asked him about a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. FBI agents then interviewed a person (whose name was not given) who said that Hahn was using cocaine a lot. They also said he was not taking his prescribed medication, and that he was paranoid of people that he claimed "had the ability to 'shock' his genitals with their minds". They also said he had possibly been visited by prostitutes. The person also said that he believed that Hahn was still trying to build a reactor, and that Hahn was collecting radium. He said that he did not believe Hahn wanted to hurt anyone, but was worried for his mental health.
Larceny of smoke detectors
In Clinton Township, Michigan on August 1, 2007, Hahn was charged with larceny for removing many smoke detectors from the halls of his apartment building. He wanted to get americium from them. In his mug shot, his face is covered with sores. Investigators believe those sores could be from being near radioactive things, psoriasis, or possible drug use.
Death
Hahn died on September 27, 2016. He was 39 years old. Hahn died in his hometown of Shelby Charter Township, Michigan. His death was accidental and due to intoxication from the combined effects of alcohol, diphenhydramine, and fentanyl.
References
More reading
An analysis is given of some of Hahn's work by Ghiorso, who has been involved in the discovery of about a dozen transuranium elements.
2016 deaths
1976 births
People from Royal Oak, Michigan