[ RadSafe ] "higher than normal"

[Emer, Dudley (CONTR)]

Franz,
You're absolutely right, but please remember who you're dealing with here.  In order to support their faulty belief structure they will permit themselves to cherry pick or fabricate any data that's required to generate the hysterics needed to line their pockets.

So if you can't find a number you want because it's zero then just make one up or cherry pick something.

"1. *The current U.S. median of 0.198 picocuries of I-131 per cubic meter of air was at least 20 times above "normal" level*s (0.010) recorded by EPA in early June 1986 when Chernobyl fallout had largely disappeared from the U.S. "  - Joseph Mangano

 "Largely disappeared" can now be equated to "normal" allowing them to conveniently ignore zero.  One can assume that number (0.010) was the smallest they could find just before everything went back to normal (zero).

Very impressive - they've now established a US background for I-131 out of thin air (no pun intended).

Here's a working link to the EPA data he cited:
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/docs/rert/radnet-cart-filter-final.pdf

Notice that the results they cite are only for the west coast / pacific sampling stations that actually detected the plume, hardly a US median.  That's quite a bold step to declare that the current U.S. median of I-131 is now 0.198 pCi/m^3.  But then again what does the press know and he knows he'll get away with it.

Small narrow minds always sink to the bottom of the ethics barrel it would seem.

Dudley Emer
Geophysicist
National Security Technologies, LLC
US DOE Contractor
Nevada National Security Site, Mercury, Nv
702-295-7808 office
702-794-5824 pager
702-343-6208 cell


-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Franz Schönhofer
Sent: Saturday, April 09, 2011 9:36 AM
To: RADSAFE
Subject: [ RadSafe ] "higher than normal"

RADSAFErs,

 

I have been annoyed by the expression and the "data" distributed by not only
RADSAFE but most  mass media. News always state concentrations of I-131 as
being higher by (please insert your number, but it should not be below 10
000) times than "normal" concentrations. What is this???? Since I-131 is a
radionuclide created  by nuclear fission it is artificial and is usually not
present in the environment. Only releases from nuclear weapons, nuclear
power-plants and nuclear medicine may result in  enhanced concentrations in
the environment, but only at a very short timespan. Anybody who had any
education in "radioactivity" should know that I-131 is not a radionuclide
being present in the environment and that it is used articificially to
detect and cure diseases of the thyroid, from where it might find its path
to the environment. Usually - at least in Europe - discharges of radioactive
hospital waste are well controlled. 

 

So what? Usual concentrations of I-131 in the environement are zero (or if
you prefer "below detection limit"). Therefore messages of being above 10
E-X is bluntant nonsense. Zero times millions, billions or whatever is
according to simple mathematics simply "zero". 

 

Franz Schoenhofer, PhD

MinRat i.R.

Habicherg. 31/7

A-1160 Wien/Vienna

AUSTRIA

 

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