[ RadSafe ] Fwd: CTBTO.org

[Franz Schönhofer]

Roger and Chris,

The questions you raise are not really difficult to answer - especially not 
for me, who has some experience n such matters.

Let us leave the question of Cs137 and K-40 aside because in this context it 
is of no importance. The same is true for Xenon ("asphyxation" - just one of 
the most funny, paranoid and silly statements I ever heard!!!!!): Anybody 
knows the percentage of nitrogen or CO2 in air? Depletion of oxygen in air 
by Xenon (I suppose Xe-133) is more than absurd.

I "guess" they refer to Po-210 - what else? Po-210 is used in the neutron 
source of nuclear bomb ignition.

It is more than well known, that Po-210 is enriched by mussles and seafood. 
See for instance Australian reports on the impact of waste waters from the 
Northern Territory uranium mines on local aborigines food like feshwater 
mussles, the impact of the Sellafield releases on seafood (I had in Cumbria 
delicious seafood!!!!). Finally I suggest to study the report of the IAEA on 
the Mururoa project- easily found on Google, where one important result was, 
that the main contribution of radioactived dose to the population of the 
South Pacific was due to Po-210 in seafood a natural staple of them. I have 
been the head of the Terrestrial Working Group, but could not help to look 
over my shoulder to the maritime working group.,......

Now let us getting a little deeper into science: The number of nuclear bombs 
exploded in the air is very well known. Anybody who knows, how much of 
Po-210 is in such an nuclear ignition device? I do not believe that this is 
still a secret. Then one could easily calculate the maximum amount of Po-210 
potentially distributed over the world and the health risk taking into 
account the half live of 138 days!

BTW tobacco concentrates it from air because the leaves are very hairy, such 
enhancing the possbility to take up the radon progeny very efficiently.

Franz


-- ---Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- 
From: Chris Alston
Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2015 8:10 PM
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
Subject: [ RadSafe ] Fwd: CTBTO.org

Roger

We don't know what species of Po it is.  If it is Po-210 (t1/2 = 138 d),
the first thing I wonder is what its analogues are, and if certain seafoods
do not concentrate it (before they become sea-"food").  For instance,
tobacco does this, no?

Looking at the website, my first take on it is that they are
well-intentioned, but need more expert advice.  For instance, their "Chart
1" (which actually is a "table") properly should include K-40 (cesium is a
K-analogue) to give a better perspective on the issue.  Then, they seem at
a loss to give radiation risks for xenon, so they note for it a hazard of
asphyxiation, by reason of oxygen-displacement.  This really is grasping at
straws; any gas that is not O presents potentially the same hazard.  And
the last thing anyone will worry about, in the event an "A-bomb" goes off,
will be inhaling so much xenon that their air supply has < 18% oxygen.

Cheers
ca
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Roger Helbig <rwhelbig at gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Aug 16, 2015 at 5:10 AM
Subject: [ RadSafe ] Has Nuclear bomb testing has resulted in radioactive
polonium in seafoods
To: RADSAFE <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
After reading this, I searched for Polonium and found this CTBTO website
https://www.ctbto.org/nuclear-testing/the-effects-of-nuclear-testing/general-overview-of-theeffects-of-nuclear-testing/
and since it cites activist organizations, I wonder how much of the
information that they present on this page is accurate (for example,
how accurate is the following?)
Thanks.
Roger Helbig
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