RE: Critics Allege Infant Mortality Rate

[denison.8@osu.edu]

Marc--

You're assuming that the measurement was made by competent personnel using
equipment that's capable of separating the signals from the different
isotopes.  If you just do a gross gamma count or toss the sample in the LSC
and assume that all of the counts are from the isotope that concerns you,
you can get scary-looking results that aren't worth crap.

I haven't read the actual Tooth Fairy paper yet, so I have no idea what
procedures were used to analyze the baby teeth.  I just know that getting
bogus answers is *real* easy.
>
>   Maybe I missed something earlier, but where would the mis-identification
>of K-40 with Sr-90 occur. I was under the impression that the K-40 has
>a very active gamma (about 1460 KeV) however, the Sr-90 is no where close.
>Even if you were to measure the Y-90 counterpart the energies are so far
>off, I don't
>know that you could really confuse the two? If Im off base here let me know.
>

J. Eric Denison
Nuclear Engineering Program
The Ohio State University
2030 Robinson Laboratory
206 West 18th Avenue
Columbus OH 43210
(614) 292-3681 or -1074
denison.8@osu.edu


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