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I've seen similar stories of people collecting radioactive materials and putting people nearby at serious risk.

At some level I can admire the drive to do something like this scientifically, if you're that deep into the weeds then it should be obvious how dangerous it is to you and other people. Don't put other people at risk for your science experiments.

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Most of the radioactive materials pose little threat, especially at the sizes that don't require a license and in the containers those samples are typically sold in. The only ones that really pose a danger to others is when you have people exceeding the size limit. Most of those people really aren't very knowledgeable, even if they are "deep in the weeds" (Hahn was learning as he went).

In the case of a Swede who tried to do it, he had multiple psychological diagnoses such as autism and mostly saw it as a fun experiment. People online encouraged him which played a part. I reckon they often value the risk differently. In his case, he even called and asked if his actions were legal, which resulted in the police arresting him.

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