Bangkok History Highlight: The Samut Prakan Radiation Incident [Season 4, Episode 8]

Bangkok History Highlight: The Samut Prakan Radiation Incident [Season 4, Episode 8]

Greg tells the true story of the 'Samut Prakan Radiation Incident,' which happened in Thailand in 2000. A piece of medical equipment that contained the highly radioactive isotope Cobalt 60 was improperly disposed of, and after a series of transactions ended up in the hands of everyday trash collectors. Unaware of its true nature, the men cut open the container with an acetylene torch, unwittingly releasing deadly radiation into the atmosphere.

Those involved soon started showing up at local clinics with strange burns and other mysterious symptoms. Thankfully, the doctors were on the ball, and soon realized they had a full-blown nuclear incident on their hands. After alerting authorities, the Thai Government office in charge of atomic safety jumped into high gear to stop things from going from bad to way, way worse.

Greg and Ed dig into the significance of the incident and how it resulted in improved regulations, agreeing that even though lives were lost, Bangkok was very lucky to avoid a much broader tragedy.

As always, the podcast will continue to be 100% funded by listeners just like you who get some special swag from us. And we'll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.

Episoder(561)

Amy Lefevre Joins to Talk Careers, Cliques and Finding Your Level in Bangkok [S6.E9]

Amy Lefevre Joins to Talk Careers, Cliques and Finding Your Level in Bangkok [S6.E9]

With interest in Thailand returning to pre-pandemic levels and the podcast getting an increasing number of emails asking for advice on living and working here, Greg interviews old acquaintance Amy Lef...

4 Okt 202248min

The Best Apps for Making Life in Thailand Fun and (Dare We Say It) Easy [S6.E8]

The Best Apps for Making Life in Thailand Fun and (Dare We Say It) Easy [S6.E8]

Greg and Ed dive into the crowded App and Play stores to discuss the various phone apps that make living in Bangkok easier. Greg begins by giving props to our excellent listeners who submitted a whole...

27 Sep 202235min

Environmental Journalist James Fahn Updates His Outlook on Thailand's Eco-Efforts [S6.E7]

Environmental Journalist James Fahn Updates His Outlook on Thailand's Eco-Efforts [S6.E7]

Greg interviews James Fahn, the Executive Director of Internews' Earth Journalism Network. Greg begins by opening a discussion about James' book "A Land On Fire," which was published in 2003, after Ja...

20 Sep 202238min

22 Years Later: Ed Boils Bangkok Down to 5 Reasons He Stays [S6.E6]

22 Years Later: Ed Boils Bangkok Down to 5 Reasons He Stays [S6.E6]

Ed reminisces on 22 years in Thailand and tries to summarize exactly why he has decided to stay for so long. It's hard to sum up, of course, but Ed manages to come up with five positives and three neg...

13 Sep 202240min

Finnish Ambassador Jyri Järviaho on Diplomatic History, Economic Trade & Vodka [S6.E5]

Finnish Ambassador Jyri Järviaho on Diplomatic History, Economic Trade & Vodka [S6.E5]

Greg interviews Jyri Järviaho, Finland's Ambassador to Thailand. Although Greg makes a valiant attempt at pronouncing the Ambassador's name, the two begin by discussing the difficulty of Finnish, with...

6 Sep 202238min

The Mystery of Old Western Songs in Thailand That Won't Die [S6.E4]

The Mystery of Old Western Songs in Thailand That Won't Die [S6.E4]

Greg and Ed discuss the fascinating topic of old Western pop songs that enjoy a shocking degree of popularity in Thailand. For those foreigners who have spent any amount of time in the Land of Smiles,...

30 Aug 202236min

Stu Jay Raj on Cursing, Dirty Talk & the Importance of Tones Part 2 [S6.E3]

Stu Jay Raj on Cursing, Dirty Talk & the Importance of Tones Part 2 [S6.E3]

Greg finishes up his interview with linguist and raconteur Stu Ja Raj. Stu begins with a classic: the super annoying fact that the Thai numbers 11 and 18 can be very difficult for foreigners to pronou...

23 Aug 202246min

Stu Jay Raj on Cursing, Dirty Talk & the Importance of Tones [S6.E2]

Stu Jay Raj on Cursing, Dirty Talk & the Importance of Tones [S6.E2]

Greg interviews our old pal Stu Jay Raj - linguist, polyglot, and true Renaissance man. As you would expect, the topic is the Thai language and foreigners' struggle to learn it properly, but with a fo...

16 Aug 202241min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
konspirasjonspodden
aftenpodden-usa
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
popradet
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
wolfgang-wee-uncut
grenselos
min-barneoppdragelse
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
synnve-og-vanessa
rss-dannet-uten-piano
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
fladseth
alt-fortalt
frokostshowet-pa-p5
198-land-med-einar-trnquist
rss-lilli-isabelle