RE: K-40 Thread

["Bradshaw, Keith" <Keith.Bradshaw@nnc.co.uk>]

> >    Its worse than you think - if you go to the health food store you can
> buy
> >    "lite salt", which contains a large proportion of KCl.
> 
> Actually available in any supermarket.
> 
> I'm writing in defense of the much aligned banana. In fact, potatoes are
> even  greater sources of dietary potassium and I've calculated a whole
> body
> absorbed dose of 0.01 mrem from a large order of fries.
> 
	Remember potassium levels in the body are tightly controlled.  Just
because you eat more potassium does not mean you get a larger committed dose
from K-40.  The only additional dose would be from your gut contents and
bladder contents, and the residence time of potassium there is probably
short.  Have you taken this into account in your calculations? 

	If you ate a large quantity of "lo-salt" (KCl) you'd vomit.  I
personally don't like this 'lo-salt' because if you inject KCl into the
blood,  it stops the heart.  It's probably only the control over potassium
sorption from the gut that stops you dropping dead on the spot when you eat
KCl.  This of course has nothing to do with radiation.

	Personal thoughts only

	keith.bradshaw@nnc.co.uk







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