The ups and downs of the life of a teenager who built a nuclear reactor at home

A 17-year-old boy who shocked the nation by building a nuclear reactor in his family's shed has died at the age of 40, but not from radiation poisoning.

In 1994, the name David Charles Hahn caused a stir in the American media, because a home experiment of this teenager startled many people.

At that time, Hahn was a 17-year-old Boy Scout living in Commerce town (Michigan state, USA), who conducted a home experiment by building a nuclear reactor in his family's shed.

David Charles Hahn stands in front of his family's shed, where he built a homemade nuclear reactor. Photo taken in 1992, when Hahn was 15 years old. (Photo: AlarmyPhoto).

Hahn collected radioactive materials for the reactor from old household products, such as americium inside smoke detectors, thorium inside lantern fabric, radium from watches, lithium from batteries…

It is known that David started his project 2 years ago, that is, in 1992, when he was only 15 years old. It was not until August 1994 that a neighbor of David discovered that the teenager was rummaging through the trunk of the family car, making them suspect that David had stolen something and called the police.

When police went to inspect David's family's warehouse, what they found was not stolen items, but a nuclear reactor that the teenager had built over the past two years. Radiation levels in the area around David's family's warehouse were 1,000 times higher than normal radiation levels .

Police in protective gear clean up the Hahn family's shed. (Photo: AlarmyPhoto).

Police had to set up a "Federal Radiological Emergency Response Team ", with the participation of the FBI and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to handle the David family's warehouse area. The entire warehouse and David's homemade nuclear reactor were dismantled by authorities and buried deep inside a desert in the state of Utah.

Hahn's parents said their son developed a passion for chemistry after his grandfather gave him a book of chemistry experiments when he was 10 years old. Hahn often conducted chemistry experiments in his bedroom and in the family's shed.

Hahn was later arrested by police, but the teenager refused to undergo a medical evaluation due to his continued exposure to radiation. Scientists believe that Hahn's life expectancy will be shortened due to his prolonged exposure to radioactive material in a closed environment without adequate protective equipment.

However, Hahn was released without facing any punishment for his actions in building his own nuclear reactor. However, the court required Hahn to promise not to continue research activities related to nuclear and radiation.

Hahn then began college and enlisted in the United States Navy, serving time aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.

Hahn and the book of chemistry experiments given to him by his grandfather, which helped him develop a passion for chemistry. (Photo: AlarmyPhoto).

After his discharge, David fell into a state of depression and began using drugs. In January 2007, David was arrested for stealing a series of smoke detectors from the apartment he was living in. David's purpose was to extract the element americium from the smoke detectors to continue his experiments on radiation.

David Charles Hahn was sentenced to three months in prison for theft.

On September 27, 2016, Hahn was found unconscious at his home in Shelby, Michigan. The cause of death was later determined to be alcohol poisoning and drug overdose , not related to radiation exposure as many people speculated.

The life of David Charles Hahn has been the subject of many films and books inspired by him. Hahn has also been nicknamed " Radioactive Boy Scout" by the American media .