If you dropped a Cs-137 source of this scale way out in the middle of nowhere, far away from any road or crops, it might not be a big deal. The half life is onl

If you dropped a Cs-137 source of this scale way out in the middle of nowhere, far away from any road or crops, it might not be a big deal. The half life is only 30 years, and it could get buried under soil or in silt. However, losing it near civilization isn't good. (Even sparsely settled areas.) It's a shiny metal object, and if it's in a gas station, hotel, or restaurant parking lot, some kid could easily find it. Plus, gamma sources are relatively easy to detect, which should help the search. If the military lost a hand grenade on a similar road trip, I'm sure people would want to find it, and this source is at least as dangerous.