Re: How much plutonium?????

["D. Kosloff" <dkosloff@ncweb.com>]

I am not a scientist either, but here is a paper that was written about some
scientists studying the effects of real plutonium in real human beings.
Voelz, et al published the following in the Health Physics  Journal,  Volume
73 No. 4 (1997): "Fifty years of plutonium exposure to the Manhattan Project
plutonium workers: an
update."   This is a periodic report about workers who inhaled, ingested or
accidently stuck plutonium into their bodies while working.

The individual with the highest deposition (3180 Bq) at the end of
1994 was 86 years old and exhibited the medical profile one would
expect of a person that age ( e.g., hearing loss, benign prostatic
hypertrophy).  9 of the 10 individuals with the highest doses were
still alive and well at the end of the '94 study (minimum 1160 Bq, ED
= 3.0 Sv).

The authors conclude with the following statement:

"The data on these 26 plutonium exposed workers have consistently
indicated over the 50-y followup period that the mortality rates for all
causes of death and for all cancers are not elevated compared with
that of U.S. white males and unexposed Los Alamos workers with
comparable hire dates.  This finding differs from some popular
misconceptions that large health risks occur with any exposure to
plutonium.  ..."

Some time ago, someone on RADSAFE was looking for this article in electronic
form, I don't know if they ever found it.  I bought a photocopy of the
complete article.

Don Kosloff,  dkosloff@ncweb.com
2910 Main St. Perry OH 44081-9593

----- Original Message -----
From: Cathy Lee <cathy_lee86@hotmail.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
Sent: Monday, May 08, 2000 9:02 AM
Subject: How much plutonium?????


> Dear Scientists,
>
> I recently read that half a kilo of plutonium
> could induce lung cancer in everyone on the planet.
>
> I was wondering if any of you could tell me about the
> scientific merits of this claim.


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