[ RadSafe ] what's scary to you?

[Ed Hiserodt]

All:

 

The first reports said it was an ethanol explosion -- which kind of made
sense since the product eats through seals and can't be shipped by pipeline.
(And it's interesting that were it not for the government mandates hardly
any ethanol would be being shipped -- except to liquor stores where it
belongs.)  

 

But the latest news stories said it was methanol.  Truth or purposeful
mistake?  Perhaps to avoid criticizing ethanol more than it's being done by
people who used to eat corn tortillas, but now are eating.  well, what do
you eat as a staple in Mexico or other countries where diets are based on
corn?

 

Ed Hiserodt

Erstwhile Engineer and Interested RadSafe Spectator

501 258 2571

 

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Stabin, Michael
Sent: Monday, February 07, 2011 12:11 PM
To: radsafe at agni.phys.iit.edu
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] what's scary to you?

 

>I'm sure there were fireballs, but "thousands" of feet in the air?  Perhaps
the fire dept. captain who said this was exhibiting 

some hyperbole.

 

Yes, I knew that was hyperbole, but there were some spectacular photos
nonetheless. And I'm not just kidding about doing something. Chlorine,
sulfuric acid, etc. accidents happen regularly, causing mass evacuations,
injuries to responders and widespread environmental damage. Why aren't the
shipping requirements stronger? People make scary movies about HLW casks
crashing and irradiating thousands, when we know you can ram a train into
them at 90 mph but can't make the darn things leak.

 

>Somewhat more to the point, doesn't anyone remember all those fireballs at
Three Mile Island?  (A little hyperbole of my own. . . . )

 

At the time, the panic about the hydrogen bubble was pretty reasonable, and
in general about loss of activity. In the end, a very minor accident from
the standpoint of the public. Well, except for the panic-related traffic
fatalities.

 

 

Mike

 

Michael G. Stabin, PhD, CHP

Associate Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences

Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences

Vanderbilt University

1161 21st Avenue South

Nashville, TN 37232-2675

Phone (615) 343-4628

Fax   (615) 322-3764

e-mail     michael.g.stabin at vanderbilt.edu

internet   www.doseinfo-radar.com

 

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