[ RadSafe ] California Bills on DU Screening Awareness - SB1720Senate Bill - Bill Analysis

[Bob Shannon]

John and Roger - 

You should check the half-life for U-234 before you forward this
information. 

Per NUDAT2 (http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/nudat2/indx_dec.jsp)

	U-234 - 2.457E+5 y

If U-234 had such a short half-life, it would approach secular equilibrium
and the DU would not persist as DU rather would revert to the more
radioactive mixture of isotopes characteristic of U-Nat in the space of
several years. (In terms of risk, the long half-life is in that sense
positive.)

It is the Th-234/Pa-234m decay progeny that have significantly shorter
half-lives. They will reach secular equilibrium in undisturbed systems in
the 0.5-1 year time frame. 


Bob Shannon
QRS
303-432-1137

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On Behalf
Of John R Johnson
Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 10:35 AM
To: Roger Helbig; radsafelist
Subject: RE: [ RadSafe ] California Bills on DU Screening Awareness -
SB1720Senate Bill - Bill Analysis

Roger

Would you forward this to Chuck.

DU is useful as a counter weight, so I wouldn't call it a waste product. The
activity in DU is mainly from U-234 with a half-life of 0.45 years and U-235
with a half-life of 0.71 billion years.

Thanks in advance

John
 _________________
John R Johnson, Ph.D.
*****
President, IDIAS, Inc
4535 West 9-Th Ave
Vancouver B. C.
V6R 2E2
(604) 222-9840
idias at interchange.ubc.ca
*****

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl]On
Behalf Of Roger Helbig
Sent: August 17, 2006 2:05 AM
To: radsafelist
Subject: [ RadSafe ] California Bills on DU Screening Awareness - SB
1720Senate Bill - Bill Analysis


Feel free to contact Chuck Nicol and make him aware of the errors in his
analysis below which has been provided to members of the California State
Assembly

Purpose  . DU is a chemically toxic, radioactive heavy metal waste
          product that has a half-life of 4.5 billion years, may cause
          genetic mutations, damage the kidneys and lungs, and may be
          cancerous when inhaled or ingested. Exposure to DU has been
          identified as a possible cause of Gulf War syndrome/illness.
          While the scientific understanding of DU's effect on health is
          still evolving, there appears to be ample evidence that there
          are some health risks associated with DU being embedded in the
          body.  As a result, this bill seeks to ensure that California
          veterans are notified of the availability of federally screening
          for DU exposure.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081



http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_1701-1750/sb_1720_cfa_20060815_163
344_asm_comm.html

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