People unclear on the concept - the neighborhood Cyclotron

High high geekdom! From Wired News comes the story of Albert Swank Jr. and his quest:

The Cyclotron Comes to the 'Hood
Albert Swank Jr., a 55-year-old civil engineer in Anchorage, Alaska, is a man with a mission. He wants to install a nuclear particle accelerator in his home.

But when neighbors learned of plans to place the 20-ton device inside the house where Swank operates his engineering firm, their response was swift: Not in my backyard.

Local lawmakers rushed to introduce emergency legislation banning the use of cyclotrons in home businesses. State health officials took similar steps, and have suspended Swank's permit to operate cyclotrons on his property.

A bit more:

Johns Hopkins University agreed to donate the used cyclotron, which is roughly six feet tall by eight feet wide, to Swank's business, Langdon Engineering and Management.

The devices are relatively scarce in Alaska, and are used to produce radioactive substances that can be injected into patients undergoing PET scans.

A bit more (some historical background):

The devices are relatively scarce in Alaska, and are used to produce radioactive substances that can be injected into patients undergoing PET scans.

Short for positron emission tomography, a PET scan is similar to an X-ray. During the imaging procedure, radioactive material administered to the patient can help medical professionals detect cancerous tissue inside the body. The substance typically remains radioactive for only a couple of hours.

For Swank, the backyard cyclotron is a personal quest: He lost his father to cancer years ago, and he says his community needs the medical resource. He also wants to use it to inspire young people to learn about science.

"My father worked with me while I was building my first cyclotron at age 17 in this same home, and he encouraged all of the educational pursuits that resulted in who I am," Swank said.

And the neighbors:

But assemblyman Tesche says noble intentions don't outweigh potential risks and nuisances. He and others fear a particle accelerator could pose hazards such as radiation leak risks to nearby residences. They also think the large amount of electricity it consumes could drain available power in the neighborhood.

And

In a letter to the city assembly, the South Addition Community Council compared potential damage from a cyclotron mishap to the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor accident.

Christ on a corn-dog -- these people need to be given a good whack with a clue-bat. The Cyclotron produces Electrons, Protons or Deuterons. At high powers, it also produces X-Rays but all of these are stopped by an inch or more of concrete. You shut the thing off and the radiation goes away.

Before he retired, my dad was a Physicist (the Halliday and Resnick textbook might ring some bells). I used to go into the Radiation Lab on Saturdays and hang out while he worked. There are precautions that you need to take but the dangers are more from electrocution or being crushed by equipment than radiation. I only knew one person there who was injured by radiation -- he was a good family friend who ignored basic safety procedures and often went into the room while the Cyclotron was running just to hang out and watch.

He died in his 70's from sinus cancer (he would look in through a viewport at the beam while it was running). Alex lived a full life and died happy. He saw something that no one else has.

The people in Anchorage bring to mind the crowd of peasants outside Victor Frankenstein's castle -- the ones with the pitchforks and torches. As for me, I'm following in the family footsteps and this winters' projects include a large solid-state Tesla Coil and getting my new (to me anyway) X-Ray machine up and running.

This is a Cyclotron running, the blue glow is the beam being sent through a thin Mica window and directed into the atmosphere. For practical use, the beam is directed to hit a target creating specific radioisotopes including those used for medical work.