RE: How much plutonium -follow on question

["Zack Clayton" <zack.clayton@epa.state.oh.us>]

As I read some of this I have to ask,  do these calculations of quantities to get cancer look at the halflife of the plutonuim?  either physical or biological in the body. 

 I realize that my hypthetical chain of events should have included the important,

AND the plutonuim in the lung decays in the lifetime of the individual inhaling it.

If there is no decay there will be no cancer from radiation from this.  Is that why Bernie's caclulation shows up as 0.0002 grams?  So that there is a suffiecient quantitiy to guarantee a decay  with the worst possible outcome before it is cleared from the body?

I realize that I am talking worst case hypothesis with a single stochastic event causing cancer and others here are talking probable observable results, two different beasties.


Zack Clayton
Ohio EPA - DERR
email:  zack.clayton@epa.state.oh.us
voice:  614-644-3066
fax:        614-460-8249

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