[ RadSafe ] Re: RADSAFE Message - Number of Atoms of Uranium Ingested

[Bernard L. Cohen]

    My error. I took the 5 Bq intake in the UNSCEAR Table as Bq/day, 
whereas it was Bq/year. There were slight differences in the numbers we 
used, so my result should have been a million trillion (1 E18) atoms per 
year, not per day.

Leo M. Lowe wrote:

> Dear Dr. Cohen,
>
> Your response on RADSAFE to the claim that even one atom of depleted 
> uranium was a threat (Dr. Durakovic) was bang on - this is a direct 
> way to show the nonsense of such a claim.
>
> However, I estimate a lower number (by roughly a factor of 1000) than 
> your value of a million trillion (1E18).  According to UNSCEAR (2000, 
> Annex B, Table 16), the reference annual intake of U-238 in the diet 
> is 5.7 Bq.  Using a specific activity of 1.235E04 Bq U-238/g of 
> uranium, this converts to a daily intake of roughly 1 microgram of 
> uranium, which is roughly about a million billion atoms (1E15).  I am 
> presuming that water intake and inhalation are relatively minor 
> sources of U in most cases.
>
> All academic, and no effect on your main point, but I was wondering 
> how you derived your number.
>
> Regards,
>  
>
> Leo M. Lowe, Ph.D., P.Phys.


-- 
ÐÏࡱá