[ RadSafe ] Re:Source in Twin towers

[Brennan, Mike (DOH)]

It saddens me that there is anyone who would have felt that it was worth
the time and expense to look for tritium there, or, if directed to by
Upper Management, would not have explained how pointless it would be.
The people who sampled the water and delivered it to the lab experienced
more total risk in that procedure than total population risk from any
feasible amount of tritium on the site represented to all of the
survivors, rescuers, and clean-up workers.  
 
"Any job worth doing is worth doing well.  Any job not worth doing is
not worth doing at all.  Experts should be able to tell the difference."
Mike Brennan

________________________________

From: Thomas Johnston [mailto:tjohnstn at gmail.com] 
Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 10:54 AM
To: Brennan, Mike (DOH)
Cc: radsafe at radlab.nl
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Re:Source in Twin towers


Found it, or at least one reference that I previously came across. And
from a reputable source. No 'pun' intended.
~Tom Johnston


On Mon, Oct 5, 2009 at 1:43 PM, Brennan, Mike (DOH)
<Mike.Brennan at doh.wa.gov> wrote:


	On a total activity basis, K-40 undoubtedly as the isotope that
	contributed the most activity in that disaster.
	
	In any event, radioactivity is so far down health hazards
associated
	with the Twin Towers that I hope no one spent much time worrying
about
	it, especially as the pathway of greatest concern was
inhalation, and
	the measures taken to protect from much greater inhalation
hazards would
	work nicely for any rad mat in the wreckage and rubble.
	

	-----Original Message-----
	From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On
	Behalf Of Geo>K0FF
	Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 9:40 AM
	To: radsafe at radlab.nl; Clayton J Bradt
	Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Re:Source in Twin towers
	
	
	Clayton, what about the possibility of hundreds of kg of DU in
the
	counterweights in the airplanes. Was it serendipity that these
two
	planes either had them replaced with other materials (
tungsten?) or
	never had it in the first place? Or did they. The manufacturer's
claim
	no.
	
	Have any large planes crashed that DID contain the DU for
	counterweights?
	
	>From  a chart on DU counterweights:
	
	DC-10 1000 kg
	L-1011 680 kg
	747- 850 kg
	
	
	Additionally, many aircraft parts, including engines are made
with
	thorium.
	All thorium isotopes are radioactive.
	
	Cd-109, Am-241, Fe-55 could be present in industrial gauges had
any been
	stored in any of the offices in New York.
	
	It is unlikely that the fire protection system's smoke detectors
used
	Am-241, as most modern industrial detectors use the
photoelectric
	method, and other non radioactive methods. It is likely that any
extra
	battery operated smoke detectors installed by the tenant DO
contain
	Am-241. However if Pyrotronics industrial smoke detectors
happened to
	have been used in a central system, they contain 80 uCi of Am
241 each.
	
	Don't get me wrong, I am not a DU alarmist. I actually use DU in
my
	work, as shielding and as a beta source.
	
	Other building materials of concern are asbestos ( used to
fireproof
	steel
	supports) and mercury ( 1 drop in every fluorescent lamp) One
could
	surmise that a substantial puddle of liquid mercury existed at
the
	lowest point in the rubble.
	
	Pictures of thorium airplane parts, counterweights etc. by
request. All
	taken by myself and with radiation detection equipment shown.
	
	
	George Dowell
	New London Nucleonics Lab
	
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