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RE: How much plutonium?????
The way I put plutonium hazard into perspective is by comparing it to
Th-232. This is a radionuclide present in the environment from natural
sources that many of us have a body burden of just from eating food grown in
the soil and drinking water. Yet, the ALI (ICRP-61) for ingestion of Th-232
is less than that for Pu-238 and Pu-239. This tells me that the CEDE does
not accurately predict the true hazard of these actinides, i.e., it
overestimates the hazard greatly. Certainly, if a small amount of Pu could
kill everyone on the planet, we'd all be dead from exposure to Th.
Gus
C. A. Gus Potter
Sandia National Laboratories
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505) 844-2750
capotte@sandia.gov
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