Re: radiation is radiation? lochbaum

[Norman & Karen Cohen <norco@bellatlantic.net>]

Vince, ( and everyone else)

I'm not being thick on purpose. I seem to hear 2 messages.

(1) rad is rad  (2) radionucleotides affect different areas of the body - I-131 to
the thyroid;
sr-90 to teeth/bones, etc. Its this part of it that I see how man-made is
'different'. Maybe I'm using the wrong (tooth project supplied) terminology of
perspective.  Why would we pass out KI tablets at nuke plants in the event of a
release and not pass 'em out in Denver where background is higher.  What am I not
getting here?

Please answer me off-list to keep email traffic down. I would have answered this one
off-list, but I'm looking for additional input from you all.

thanks
norm

Vincent King wrote:

>      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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--
Coalition for Peace and Justice and the UNPLUG Salem Campaign; 321 Barr Ave.,
Linwood, NJ 08221; 609-601-8537 or 609-601-8583 (8583: fax, answer machine);
norco@bellatlantic.net;  UNPLUG SALEM WEBSITE:  http://www.unplugsalem.org/
COALITION FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE WEBSITE:  http://members.bellatlantic.net/~norco/
ICQ# 54268619; The Coalition for Peace and Justice is a chapter of Peace Action.
“We have two lives, the one we’re given, and the other one we make” (Mary Chapin
Carpenter)
“Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights...Get up, stand up, don’t give up the
fight!” (Bob Marley)




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