[ RadSafe ] Salsman's uranium trioxide gas proof

[James Salsman]

Dr. Raabe,

Are you suggesting that as a gas diffuses and cools below the point at
which it is volatile, more than half of it will condense
"instantaneously?" That is absurd. The condensation process can take
hours to days for a molecule the mass of uranium trioxide, and those
molecules which condense on the surface of dust, for example, are
almost as immediately soluable in lung fluid as gas molecules.  There
is nothing in Carter and Stewart to suggest that the process is
"instantaneous" or even particularly quick.

Carter and Stewart write, "droplets of ... uranium ... which burn in
air ... lose about one half of their internal mass which is emitted
violently as a vapor."

Not a fume, a gas vapor.  A vapor is a collection of individual gas molecules.

Do you have any support at all for your assertion that their gaseous
state is "instantaneous"?

Sincerely,
James Salsman

On 1/24/07, Otto Raabe <ograabe at ucdavis.edu> wrote:
>
>  At 07:26 AM 1/24/2007, James Salsman wrote:
>
> In Carter, R.F. and K. Stewart (1970) "On the oxide fume formed by the
>  combustion of plutonium and uranium" Inhaled Particles 2:819-38 (PMID
>  5527739) is at:
>   http://www.bovik.org/du/CarterStewart.pdf
>  --please see section (f) on page 836, which indicates that about half
>  of burning uranium goes into a gaseous vapor fume, instead of the
>  aerosol particulates which have thus far been the only portion
>  measured.***********************************
>  In aerosol science the word fume refers to small airborne particles
> produced by condensation of vapors. The definition given on page 6 in the
> textbook AEROSOL SCIENCE by W.C. Hinds (Academic Press 1982) states" "Fume:
> A solid-particle aerosol produced by the condensation of vapors or gaseous
> combustion products. Particle sizes are generally less than 1 um. Note that
> this definition is different from the popular use of the term to refer to
> any noxious contamination the atmosphere."
>
>  Mr. Salsman's lack of knowledge in this field has led to his
> misunderstanding of the article by Carter and Stewart. The vapors formed in
> that study existed only instantaneously at temperature exceeding 2000
> degrees Celsius. Carter and Steward studied the insoluble airborne particles
> formed by vaporization of plutonium and uranium. Their main conclusion was
> that extremely hot events can lead to the formation of airborne particles of
> the insoluble metal oxides.
>
>  No gaseous forms of plutonium metal or uranium metal or their oxides exist
> at normal ambient temperature
>
>  Otto
>
>
>
>  Otto
>
>
>
>  **********************************************
>  Prof. Otto G. Raabe, Ph.D., CHP
>  Center for Health & the Environment
>  University of California
>  One Shields Avenue
>  Davis, CA 95616
>  E-Mail: ograabe at ucdavis.edu
>  Phone: (530) 752-7754   FAX: (530) 758-6140
>  ***********************************************