Re: DU in Iraq - relevant comparisons

["Ansari, Armin" <asa4@cdc.gov>]

Dear colleagues:



Calculating the mass of natural uranium in the top one meter layer of soil

in Iraq or any where else (even our own backyard) is interesting and very

useful for communicating the presence of radioactive materials in our

natural world.  However, this is not a useful approach in communicating the

low risk associated with the presence of however many tons of DU ammunition

in the environment.  This could be relevant only if all DU were

homogeneously distributed over the entire country to a depth of one meter.



Let's consider this analogy: the top 1 centimeter layer of soil in this

beautiful country contains approximately 15,000 Ci of Cs-137 (someone please

check my math).  If one Ci of Cs-137 is spilled or scattered, we would not

discount it just because it is only 0.00007 fraction of what is already

present in the top 1 cm of soil.  Relevant comparisons would be

concentrations and exposure rates.



Best regards,

Armin





___________________________________

Armin Ansari, Ph.D., CHP

Radiation Studies Branch, EHHE, NCEH

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

1600 Clifton Rd, NE (MS-E39) 

Atlanta, GA 30333



Ph: 404.498.1837 Fax: 404.498.1811

AAnsari@cdc.gov 



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