RE: How much plutonium -follow on question

[Bernard L Cohen <blc+@pitt.edu>]

On Mon, 8 May 2000, Zack Clayton wrote:

> 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. 

	--Both these are taken into account, but physical decay is very
slow. The ICRP lung model specifies the times the plutonium spends in
each organ, and thus the dose. Calculations must also involve pathways
through the environment, including direct inhalation, resuspension,and
long term effects from land use.

Bernard L. Cohen
Physics Dept.
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Tel: (412)624-9245
Fax: (412)624-9163
e-mail: blc+@pitt.edu



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