Re: Dirty Bomb

[Tim <kemps89@yahoo.com>]

--- muckerheide <muckerheide@attbi.com> wrote:

> Presenting this to Fire, Police, and EMS finds them

> stunned by a factual perspective on radiation 

> effects, from background radiation, medical and

> occupational exposures, plus Chernobyl, etc. 



I'm a volunteer Paramedic and as part of that, I need

to attend frequent continuing ed classes.  One of them

(given before 9/11) talked about radioactive

emergencies.



Please note, an emergency physician was talking about

this - not a radiologist or health physicist.  This

guy kept weaving between nuclear plants and bombs and

at one point he threw up a slide of nuclear plants in

my state and the next, he threw up a slide of effects

of a nuclear bomb whose epicenter was located at both

plant sites.



I had to speak up.  Someone in the back asked me how I

was so sure that a nuclear plant couldn't explode.  I

said that I am a nuclear engineer and that's how I am

so sure.  It shut him up.



The doctor also was talking about the effects of an

explosion and the subsequent "beta burn."  He said

that beta particles (not the beta-emitting

radioisotopes) could remain on the skin and if they

were to get into an open wound could contaminate the

person from within.  I had to correct that statement

also.



Afterwards, I spoke with the doc - he said some other

things that I didn't agree with but they didn't

distract from the overall intent of the message so I

remained silent.



After the class, I spoke with the doc.  He said that

he was more itnerested in picking my brain and that

some of the things I told him were news to him.  The

sources he used were quite limited and he was

interested in painting as accurate a picture as he

could in future classes.  In general, his tone was far

from anti-nuke especially when he talked about the

health effects from TMI (e.g. none).



I think he was geniunely interested in knowing the

facts but that he just did not have enough sources to

give him that.  Maybe he didn't look too long - maybe

he didn't have time but I know he cared.



The point I'd like to make is that groups need to do a

better job educating the public.  Do things like go to

high school physics classes and talk about radiation

or help put on continuing ed classes for fire/EMS

workers.  As long as the people "teaching" these

classes has nothing more than a cursory knowledge of

radiation then these same superstitions and incorrect

information will continue to be distributed. 

Sometimes it will be an honest mistake...other times

it will be intentional.



Let's try to work on the people that make honest

mistakes because the people that do it intentionally

would take too much valuable time to work with.



Tim



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