Re: radioprotection of other species

["Fritz A. Seiler" <faseiler@nmia.com>]

Hi all, and a happy prosperous New Year,

We should not be too cavalier about radiation safety of other species.  Just
before I handed over command of the Swiss Army Radiation Laboratories to my
successor, this question came up and had me worried quite a bit.
The main worry were domesticated animals, wild animals taking a back seat at
that time.  Consider cows in an emergency situation. Switzerland at that time
had fallout shelters with protection  factors of several hundred for more than
80% of its population.  Cows had far less protection, about as much as their
stable would provide.  The main thing, however, was that cows have to be tended
every day:
feeding, watering and - above all - MILKING!  A modern milk cow will not survive
if she is not milked: she will get mastitis and will die. So the farmer will
have to get out of the shelter and take care of his cows, and will get for that
time a much higher radiation dose rate.  That is one indirect radition problem.
The next is how is the question how the cow's milk production is going to depend
on irradiation (large doses!) and what kind of additional feed a cow might need
to help stay as healthy as possible.  I learned quickly that we have to think a
little broader, not just about human risk but also about the risks to domestic
animals.  Cows are just one example.  And our ignorance about these issues is
almost allembracing.  I do not know what happened to my questions after I
relinquished command and came to this country.

Something to think about in the 21st century!

Best regards

Fritz

--

 " The American Republic will endure until the day Congress
 discovers that it can bribe the Public with the Public's money."
                                       Alexis de Tocqueville
                                       Democracy in America

***************************

Fritz A. Seiler, Ph.D.
Sigma Five Consulting
P.O. Box 1709
Los Lunas, NM 87031, USA
Tel.    505-866-5193
Fax.    505-866-5197
e-mail: faseiler@nmia.com

***************************


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