Natural vs. Man-made

["MacLellan, Jay A" <jay.a.maclellan@pnl.gov>]

Norm's contention:

"Part of the TFP's theory is that man-made radiation, like I-131 and
Sr-90, go to specific parts of the body, the thyroid and teeth/bones in these
cases. There they continue to emit radiation and harm the immune system. Thus
these radionucleides (sic) are 'different' than natural radiation which just
passes through the body once."

Norm, it isn't just that we don't agree with this, there is no scientific basis
for it.  All elements behave the way they do because of their chemistry.
Uranium is ubiquitous in the environment (you can interpret that as natural).
If you ingest some (and you do every day), about 20% is absorbed, and the rest
passes through the body.  Of the absorbed fraction about 25% is preferentially
taken up by bone, 25% by the kidneys, and 25% by other soft tissue.  The
remainder stays in the circulation and is excreted.  The absorbed fractions are
also removed from the body with set biological half-lives, and excreted.  If you
ingest plutonium similar things happen, only the absorbed fraction is 0.01%
instead of 20%, and the distribution in the given organs is different.  The
other 99.99% just passes through the body once.  If the basis for the TFP is as
you state, those responsible for the research are either ignorant or dishonest.
END OF STORY.  But of course, that is just my personal opinion.


Jay A. MacLellan, CHP
Radiation and Health Technology
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Phone:  509-376-7247
Fax:      509-376-2906
Email:   jay.a.maclellan@pnl.gov

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