Cobalt-60 is not explosive and would not destroy a city. The entire city is a risk in the movie, but it was OK for convicts to be near it. It goes through beta decay (emits electrons) and then turns into Nickel, and emits 2 gamma rays (just high energy photons). So what I don't understand is what causes the residual radiation on cars, rooms, and everything else the canister was near? Once the canister is taken out of a room, the room should be safe. It is possible that the radiation makes other atoms change and become radioactive, but I am not aware of the amount of that effect. And then there was the expert, who used his coat to open the car door and the hood. Come on - wouldn't the guy have protective gear? How about an old rag? Something that seems to have escaped the police is that they could have checked for radiation on the officers that manned the roadblocks (assuming the premise that everything got contaminated for a long time). They were searching the cars very well, and touching everything. That would have given clues as to the route the convict was taking. Today, that all seems silly. The roadblock people and investigators would be all in spacesuits and have to go through 30 minute showers to try to decontaminate themselves.
Review of City of Fear
