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RE: Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology- K-40 Thread
This is the type of scientific information that could be the death knell for
Alec Baldwin and Tooth Fairy science. Please pass it along to 60 Minutes,
Dateline and the rest of them.
-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
[mailto:radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu]On Behalf Of RadiumProj@cs.com
Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2000 7:54 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: Re: Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology- K-40 Thread
Radsafers:
FYI. On the subject of interesting sidelights related to K-40 is the issue
of
KCl salt "Quickmelt" commonly sold each winter in bulk 50 pound containers
anywhere in the Northern US.
KCl has a K content of about 500 g/kg and a K-40 concentration of over
400,000 pCi/kg of KCl. Do the math. Years ago after seeing a display of KCl
next to the checkout counter at a local Sams' Club consisting of a palet of
KCl containers [50 pounds each] about 10 deep by 7 wide by 5 high [7945 kg],
I did a quick calculation that indicated a gamma dose rate from K-40 photon
flux would be about 0.2 mR/hr in the middle of the display.
I went back with a DigiDose meter and placing it in close proximity got a
dose rate of about 0.1 mR/hr, or more than 10 times background. Interesting.
I have a photo of a mother with her small child waiting in the checkout line
next to this KCl salt display.
The irony is KCl is being mined in bulk and the radiation producing
technologies want to put nuclear waste into salt mines. Nuclear waste will
eventually decay away with a half life of tens of years to thousands of
years
for the major components of a nuclear plant or weapon's mix. For KCl the
K-40 has a half life of more than a billion years. Go figure.
Nevertheless this does make an interesting point on a natural radiation
source being brought into commerce which delivers a dose rate and person-rem
to real people that will far exceed that which nuclear waste storage could
ever deliver in the offsite environment to real people.
Stewart Farber
172 Old Orchard Way
Warren, VT 05674
email: radiumproj@cs.com
In a message dated 4/5/00 11:20:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time, sjd@swcp.com
writes:
<< 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. >>
=====
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