AW: [ RadSafe ] Fwd: Not safe for the U of Hawaii but OK for us ???

[Franz Schönhofer]

Dear Norman and RADSAFErs,

I recognize my good old foe and friend Norman in this post - mixing
apples and pears as usual. Instead of sending a lengthy explanation why
one cannot compare those two cases (like apples and pears are not the
same) I would like to ask you a question:
Having nuclear weapons - no problem and no national-security risk with
regard to the USA, Great Britain, France, China, Russia, Pakistan, India
and probably one or the other state, but unacceptable for other special
states and a threat for world peace, even using commercial uranium
enrichment for nuclear power plants?

Norman, be careful when you answer! You might be accused of being
Anti-American!

Best regards,

Franz

Franz Schoenhofer
PhD, MR iR
Habicherg. 31/7
A-1160 Vienna
AUSTRIA
phone -43-0699-1168-1319


> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] Im
> Auftrag von Norm Cohen
> Gesendet: Samstag, 16. April 2005 21:32
> An: know_nukes at yahoogroups.com
> Cc: radsafe at radlab.nl
> Betreff: [ RadSafe ] Fwd: Not safe for the U of Hawaii but OK for us
???
> 
> 
> 
> ------- Forwarded message -------
> From: Nocobalt4food at aol.com
> To: Nocobalt4food at aol.com
> Subject: Not safe for the U of Hawaii but OK for us ???
> Date: Sat, 16 Apr 2005 15:14:52 EDT
> 
> 
> Not Safe for the University of Hawaii but  OK for us???
> 
> 
> Cobalt-60, which has weakened over time (since  1960's), was deemed a
> national-security risk by the National Nuclear  Security
Administration
> and ordered
> removed from the University of Hawaii.   Yet, this same material (in a
far
> stronger state) is OK to have at the nuclear  food irradiator in
Milford
> Square,
> PA ???
> 
> "The removal of these radiological  sources has greatly reduced the
chance
> that radiological materials could get  into the wrong hands," said
Paul
> Longsworth, NNSA deputy director for  nonproliferation. "The
University of
> Hawai'i,
> its surrounding neighbors and the  international community are safer
today
> as a
> result of this effort."
> 
> Did you know there was an attempt to put a nuclear food  irradiator on
the
> island of Hawaii??  Instead, the good people there  fought back, in a
> united
> effort, and today there is an electron  irradiator.  Irradiation of
food
> is
> certainly a poor idea but nuclear is  just ......
> 
> Posted on: Thursday, April 14, 2005
> Key ingredient in 'dirty  bombs' removed from UH
> By _Johnny  Brannon_ (mailto:jbrannon at honoluluadvertiser.com)
> Advertiser Education  Writer
> Radioactive material that had been used for decades at the  University
of
> Hawai'i in agricultural research — but that now carries
national-security
> implications — has been removed and disposed of, according to  the
> National Nuclear
> Security Administration.
> About cobalt-60
> • What it is: Cobalt (chemical symbol Co) is a  metal that may be
stable
> (nonradioactive, as found in nature), or unstable  (radioactive,
manmade).
> The
> most common radioactive isotope of cobalt is  cobalt-60.
> • What is cobalt-60 used for? Cobalt-60 is used in  many common
industrial
> applications, such as in leveling devices and  thickness gauges, and
in
> radiotherapy in hospitals. Large sources of  cobalt-60 are
increasingly
> used for
> sterilization of spices and certain  foods. The powerful gamma rays
kill
> bacteria
> and other pathogens without  damaging the product. The product is not
left
> radioactive. This process is  sometimes called "cold pasteurization."
> Source: U.S. Environmental Protection  AgencyThe  substance, called
> cobalt-60, was loaned to the university in the 1960s by the  U.S.
Atomic
> Energy
> Commission, and was kept at a lab on the Manoa campus near  the
> Agricultural
> Engineering Building on Maile Way, UH radiation safety officer  Irene
> Sakimoto said.
> The 100 sources, or individual pieces, of cobalt-60 were  removed at
the
> university's request, because they had greatly weakened over time  and
> were no
> longer being used in research, she said.
> UH spokesman Jim Manke said the material had not posed  any danger to
the
> public, and that the university did not possess any more of  it.
> Federal authorities are concerned that cobalt-60 could be  used to
> manufacture a crude radioactive weapon, or "dirty bomb," if obtained
by
> terrorists.
> Such devices combine a conventional explosive, such as dynamite,  with
> radioactive material. The NNSA has launched a national Radiological
> Threat  Reduction
> Program to recover and secure materials that could be used to make
such
> weapons.
> "The removal of these radiological sources has greatly  reduced the
chance
> that radiological materials could get into the wrong hands,"  said
Paul
> Longsworth, NNSA deputy director for nonproliferation. "The University
of
> Hawai'i,
> its surrounding neighbors and the international community are safer
today
> as a
> result of this effort."
> A private contractor with expertise in removing,  packaging and
> transporting
> cobalt-60 completed the removal on March 28, and it  was permanently
> disposed
> of at a secure facility on Tuesday, the NNSA said.
> The material was used in an irradiation process to treat  tropical
fruit,
> such as papayas and rambutan, Sakimoto said. The research was
> discontinued last
> year after a professor who oversaw the effort retired, she  said.
> "They were testing different kind of fruits to see how  much radiation
> they
> would have to give it to kill insects, but keep the fruit in  a
marketable
> condition," Sakimoto said.
> Irradiation is used by some food processors to kill  bacteria and
other
> pathogens that could otherwise result in spoilage or food  poisoning.
> Cobalt-60 is
> the most commonly used radionuclide for food  irradiation, according
to
> the
> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
> There is one commercial food irradiation facility in  Hawai'i, on the
Big
> Island, but it does not use cobalt-60, according to the  state
Department
> of
> Agriculture.
> Scientists measure radiological activity, or strength, by  a unit
called
> the
> curie, which is defined as 37 billion disintegrations per  second.
> Sakimoto
> said the cobalt-60 at UH measured at 1,000 curies.
> "For research, it's a small amount," she said.
> Reach Johnny Brannon at _jbrannon at honoluluadvertiser.com_
> (mailto:jbrannon at honoluluadvertiser.com)  or  525-8084
> 
> 
> 
> --
> Coalition for Peace and Justice
> UNPLUG Salem Campaign; 321 Barr Ave, Linwood
> NJ 08221; 609-601-8583; cell 609-742-0982
> ncohen12 at comcast.net; http://www.unplugsalem.org
> http://www.coalitionforpeaceandjustice.org
> 
> "A time comes when silence is betrayal.
> Even when pressed by the demands of
> inner truth, men do not easily assume
> the task of opposing their government's
> policy, especially in time of war.
> Nor does the human spirit move without
>   great difficulty against all the apathy
> of conformist thought, within one's own
> bosom and in the surrounding world."
> 
> - Martin Luther King Jr.
> 
>