[ RadSafe ] Uranium buckyballs

[Harrison, Tony]

The UC Davis press release is, of course, more interesting and less inflamatory:

http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10131

So it seems It's a corrosion issue, and there is some real science behind it, but no evidence that any such items have made their way to North America (except in the imaginations of the anti-nukes.)


Tony Harrison, MSPH
Inorganic & Radiochemistry Supervisor
Laboratory Services Division
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
8100 Lowry Blvd.
Denver, CO 80230
303-692-3046 | tony.harrison at state.co.us<mailto:tony.harrison at state.co.us>


Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2012 09:09:15 -0700
From: "Brennan, Mike  (DOH)" <Mike.Brennan at DOH.WA.GOV<mailto:Mike.Brennan at DOH.WA.GOV>>
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Uranium containing spherical
       particles(buckyballs??_from Fukushima
To: "parthasarathy k s" <ksparth at yahoo.co.uk<mailto:ksparth at yahoo.co.uk>>,  "The International
       Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing   List"
       <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu<mailto:radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>>
Message-ID:
       <37C41083D3480E4BBB478317773B845D07505F31 at dohmxtum31.doh.wa.lcl>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="iso-8859-1"

I would be interested in seeing any evidence at all that uranium forms bucky balls.  I believe the smallest formation uses 60 atoms, which if made with uranium rather than carbon, would have to result in one of the densest molecules ever discovered.  I would be interested in knowing how such molecules were transported to America: I would be only a little less surprised at a claim that chunks of fuel rods wafted across the ocean.

Of course, even if the uranium did make bucky balls, they would barely be radioactive.  I don't remember what the specific activity for uranium is on a per atom basis, but I do recall being impressed at how low it was.

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu<mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu> [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu<mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu>] On Behalf Of parthasarathy k s
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 7:28 PM
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
Subject: [ RadSafe ] Uranium containing spherical particles(buckyballs??_from Fukushima

Dear List members


I received the following news item today.




?http://www.readersupportednews.org/news-section2/344-208/11859-a-radioactive-nightmare


I find it difficult to believe? that uranium containing spherical particles released from the molten fuel in Fukushima? started appearing in US beaches

Regards
Parthasarathy