[ RadSafe ] [DU-WATCH] Re:U-238 spontaneous fission= birth defects, cancers

[Roger Helbig]

Elaine Hunter and Cathy Garger's latest speculation - now, they are
concerned that spontaneous fission is the cause of the birth defects - I
appreciated being advised by a sharp eyed RASAFer that the British Medical
Journal published one of the so-called DU victims with an unknown skin
disease and received a number of electronic replies telling that it was not
unkown and naming it.

Roger Helbig


--- On *Tue, 6/17/08, Cathy Garger <savorsuccesslady3 at yahoo.com>* wrote:

Dear Elaine,

This is superb - thank you! I would like to encourage you to consider
publishing this in article form!

Cathy Garger
www.mytown.ca/garger

From: Elaine Hunter <dutnkyoh at yahoo.com>
Subject: [DU-WATCH] U-238 spontaneous fission= birth defects, cancers
To: du-watch at yahoogroups.com, "du-list" <du-list at yahoogroups.com>

Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2008, 6:50 AM

Look for the spontaneous fission products of U-238 to find an important cause of
increased rates of birth defects in Iraq [and other places] and the cause of,
for example the virulent, aggressive and deadly cancers of deceased veteran
Dustin Brim and others.
  Whoever claims that there are no fission products associated with the use of
concentrated "depleted" uranium has just plain not done their homework.
I've read such claims.  They are WRONG.
  The case for fission products when DU munitions are used, especially
aerosolized, is exactly the same as the case for neuton emissions [and really
I'd hoped someone else would notice and write an email about it].  We must
get beyond alpha and consider the whole radioactive/toxic alphabet soup when DU
munitions are used if we are to fully profile this insidious, surreptitious
serial killer.
  Here it is again:
  THE CASE FOR FISSION PRODUCTS FROM CONCENTRATED "DEPLETED" URANIUM [you
don't have to be a nuclear physicist, just have some reading comprehension]

1.  Rate of Spontaneous Fission Neutrons From Uranium is 59.5 neutrons/g/hr
[According to one reference [ iop.org/EJ/abstract/0370-1298/65/3/307 from Proc.
Phys. Soc., D.J. Littler, 1952: "A Determination of the Rate of Emission of
Spontaneous Fission Neutrons in Natural Uranium"] the rate of emission of
spontaneous fission neutrons from natural uranium is computed to be 59.5
neutrons/g/hr of uranium.]

2.  Uranium-238 Undergoes Spontaneous Fission at a Rate 35X That of Uranium-235
[According to another reference:
[www.mcgoodwin.net/pages/otherbooks/rr_darksun.html
], Uranium-238 undergoes
spontaneous fission at a rate 35 times that of Uranium-235.]
  ><>
   Though U-238 is not fissile, which means it does not sustain chain
reactions, it is indeed fissionable, spontaneously fissionable.

Now, if natural uranium [U238 + U235, +U234] undergoes spontaneous fission at a
certain rate, and U238 undergoes spontaneous fission at a higher rate than U235
here's what happens:
  Concentrated  "depleted" uranium has had most of the U235 and U234
removed from the mix; gaseous diffusion sends the lighter isotopes and heavier
ones to two different streams in the process. [The Revenooers don't mind this
kind of still, they get their piece of the pie and if they ain't no moonshine
still within a couple of miles of home… but I digress].  Anyway, the result
is that the spontaneous fission rate of what we call DU will not be less than
natural uranium.  A tiny bit more, in fact, but I'll spare you the math on
that.
  Also, I'll spare you the math on how many tons of the stuff was used--still
under debate-- and go with the imprecise "a whoppin' lot."  So there's
MUST be fission products.  On Wikipedia one can find listing of fission
products for U-235.  Those from U-238 are probably similar.  Some have long
half-lives, some short.  ALL are radioactive.  Don't fool yourselves, given
the opportunity the ones with short half-lives will do the most damage to
health because of rapid rates of radiative decay.
  Here's an unknown consideration at least for me.  When a vehicle is
incinerated there is an intense thermodynamic event.  I do wonder if the
extremely high temperatures increase the rates of  fission product emissions.
  In addition, the neutrons released will transmute some of the materials
involved into radioactive isotopes.
  Really the scenario is extremely complex.  Mind boggling.
  Elaine Hunter