David Hahn

David Charles Hahn (1976–2016) was an American Boy Scout and amateur experimenter best known for attempting to build a homemade nuclear reactor as a teenager.

David Charles Hahn (1976–2016) was an American amateur scientist and Boy Scout who attempted to build a homemade nuclear reactor as a teenager. He became widely known as the “Radioactive Boy Scout” after his project drew federal attention and prompted an environmental cleanup. Hahn died in 2016 at age 39.

Early life

David Hahn was born in 1976 in Michigan and developed an interest in science at a young age. Sources describe him as a Boy Scout who became fascinated with atomic energy and experimentation.

Backyard reactor attempt

As a teenager, Hahn tried to assemble a homemade breeder reactor in a shed behind his mother’s home in the Detroit area. He gathered radioactive materials from ordinary consumer products, such as smoke detectors, clocks, and lantern mantles, in pursuit of the project. The attempt did not produce a working nuclear reactor, but it did create a hazardous radioactive contamination concern.

Public attention and cleanup

The project was discovered after authorities became concerned about the materials he had collected. The incident led to federal scrutiny by the FBI and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and an environmental response to address contamination at the site. The site was later cleaned up as an environmental hazard.

Later life and death

After the reactor attempt, Hahn’s life attracted repeated media coverage because of the unusual and dangerous nature of the case. He died on September 27, 2016, at age 39.