Ken Silverstein
David Hahn, a Michigan 17-year-old, was obsessed with chemistry. In particular, he was obsessed with nuclear chemistry. His obsession ended with an EPA cleanup of a potting shed in his backyard - the shed that had contained his model breeder reactor.
David showed considerable ingenuity in obtaining his nuclear materials. He obtained the radioactive isotope americium by disassembling dozens of smoke detectors and got thorium from Coleman lantern mantles. But he had no regard whatsoever for his safety and no concern for what he was doing to his immediate environment.
While author Silverstein makes it clear that David’s project was not an actual reactor, it was a radioactive assembly that contaminated David and the surrounding area. The book is clear and concise, but would have been much better had Silverstein been able to discover exactly what David had built.