Re: from lochbaum, differences in biological effects of radiation

["ruth_weiner" <ruth_weiner@email.msn.com>]

>Sr-90, because it is man-made, can act as a marker, it can point
>the finger right to the offending emitter, in this case, nuke plants<

Sr-90 is just as much (or more) a marker for atmospheric fallout as for
nuclear power plants.  For that matter, it is also produced in the canyon
processes used to separate plutonium and in some cases to treat waste.  It
is a constituent of high-level radioactive waste stored  at various sites.
Sr-90 capsules are used as a heat source in a variety of applications.  All
of these are anthropogenic sources.  So yes, if you want to say that
detection of Sr-90 in an environment means that there was some anthropogenic
radioactive material around, yes, you can say that, but because of the
fallout contribution, it's not a marker for any particular source.
Definitely not a "finger pointer."

Sr-90 and its daughter Y-90 (half life 64 hrs) are beta emitters (a beta is
an electron and has a relatively short path in tissue because it carries an
electric charge and is easily deflected).  If Sr-90 is incorporated into
bone it will continue to decay to Y-90 (which decays to stable Zr-90) and
emit betas, which can damage nearby cells.  It is incorporated into bone
(and teeth) because it is chemically very similar to calcium (not because it
is radioactive) and is metabolized much as calcium is.  I don't know
anything about immune system damage -- I thought radionuclides were
carcinogens -- but then I am not a physiologist or doctor.

Ruth Weiner
ruth_weiner@msn.cim

-----Original Message-----
From: Norman & Karen Cohen <norco@bellatlantic.net>
To: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
Date: Saturday, August 12, 2000 2:55 PM
Subject: Re: from lochbaum, differences in biological effects of radiation


>Hi Ruth
>-------I think we continue to talk past each other. Perhaps its due to my
lack
>of scientific training, who knows.
>Anyway, YES I agree with you, that it doesn;t matter from the standpoint of
>radiation, whether the source was man made or not. But (sorry), . the point
of
>the TFP is that Sr-90, because it is man-made, can act as a marker, it can
point
>the finger right to the offending emitter, in this case, nuke plants. And,
if
>Sr-90 is coming from nuke plants, then the person who has rec'd the Sr-90
is
>also getting a whole cocktail of low level radiation from everything else a
nuke
>plant emits. ---------
>
>Can you, or some other Radsafer, tell me what studies have been done about
the
>effects of radiation emission from within the body? Thus one of the TFP
claims
>is that Sr-90 lodges in the bones, where it continues to emit radiation
that
>weakens the immune system. Has this idea every been tested?
>
>And thanks for the spelling lesson. I've fired my computer's spell checker!
:0)
>
>thanks
>norm
>
> --
>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);
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>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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