Re: Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology "Improvements in

[Steven Dapra <sjd@swcp.com>]

April 5

	On April 5, Frank R. Borger asked, "Can anybody out there come up with an
estimate of the amount of radioactivity released per year through bananas
shipped thru New York?"

	This finding (below) is not exactly an answer to the question, but
presents an interesting sidelight.  It was posted to RADSAFE on Jan 27,
2000 by Michael Stabin.

	"Carol Marcus and I did a little analysis some years back, and found that
grocery stores in the US are permitting uncontrolled releases (with no
consumer notification) of the order of 7.5 *curies* of radioactivity (K-40)
per year, in bananas alone (there are other foodstuffs high in potassium
whose contributions could be added).  I would just be curious to know how
the two numbers compared."

	See also "Banana Equivalent Dose," RADSAFE, March 7, 1995, posted by Gary
Mansfield.  (Be certain to read Gary's disclaimer.)

	Or, search the RADSAFE archives using the word "banana" and find 40
entries, some informative, some humorous.

Steven Dapra
sjd@swcp.com






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