Re: radiation is radiation? lochbaum

[Vincent.King@DOEGJPO.COM (Vincent King)]

     It's pretty straighforward, Norm.
     
     When this discussion began, it was implied that somehow man-made 
     radiation was different than 'natural' radiation.  That is not 
     true.  If a lung cell is damaged by an alpha particle (made of two 
     neutrons and two protons) the cell has no way of determining if the 
     alpha came from a 'deadly' plutonium atom decay or the decay of a 
     'friendly', naturally occurring bismuth or lead or polonium atom.  
     
     Halflives of radionuclides, considered alone, DO NOT determine 
     damage to tissue or dose, which I think has already been explained. 
     (Example: exposure to plutonium in the lungs may be relatively 
     steady over a lifetime because plutonium has a long half-life and 
     long retention time in the lung; alpha exposure from Polonium 214, 
     with its fraction of a second half life, is just as steady over a 
     lifetime because it is contiually supplied by the environment.) 
     
     No one is saying that alpha, beta, and gamma radiation are 
     identical to each other, which was never the question.
     
     Vincent King
     vincent.king@doegjpo.com


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: radiation is radiation? lochbaum
Author:  Norman & Karen Cohen <norco@bellatlantic.net> at Internet
Date:    5/8/00 4:54 PM


And guys and gals, I have to confess as well that, despite all of your best
intentions and explanations, I still don't get it either.

norm

DaveL wrote:

>
>  I really don't understand the "radiation is radiation" argument. I think it
is
> based in the original intent of the radiation measuring unit (rem, standing
for
> roentgen equivalent man). Rem was supposed to allow apples to apples
> comparisions of exposures to alpha, beta, gamma, and neutrons. If Person X was
> exposed to one hour of alpha radiation and Person Y was exposed to one hour of
> gamma radiation and the radiation intensities were exactly the same, these
> people would have different rem exposures because alpha and gamma affect the
> human body differently. So, from that standpoint, one rem of alpha radiation
is
> the same as one rem of gamma radiation. But to reduce the issue of radiation
> health down to three words, "radiation is radiation," is summed up by these
> three words, "crazy is crazy."

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