RE: Criticality accident

[Jack_Earley@RL.GOV]

It might be if you change "society" to "population."



Jack Earley

Radiological Engineer





-----Original Message-----

From: Gary Isenhower [mailto:garyi@BCM.TMC.EDU]

Sent: Monday, March 18, 2002 4:47 AM

To: radsafe

Subject: Re: Criticality accident







Paul lavely wrote:



> 

> What number of accidental criticalities and deaths would be needed to

> qualify as "many"?

> 



Clearly, one death is one too many.  But that is a misleading

perspective.  A better question perhaps is whether such activities are

as safe as comparable activies like hydroelectric generation.  I don't

have exact numbers, but I believe that deaths due to hydroelectric power

generation are far in excess of deaths due to accidental criticalities. 

The construction of Hoover dam alone killed several tens of workers.



If we forbid activities which might result in a single death, we will

become a very primitive, paranoid, and paralyzed society.



pretty cool aliteration, huh? :)



    _______________________________________________



	Gary Isenhower

	713-798-8353

	garyi@bcm.tmc.edu

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