RE: Radioactivity from burning coal

["Dale E. Boyce" <dale@radpro.uchicago.edu>]

The ash is put in a landfill somewhere, even if it is not released
to the air.  Still I agree that it is not a hazard, but what is
perplexing is that while it is okay to dump hundreds of Curies of
Uranium and Thorium in a landfill the relatively innocuous radwaste
generated by hospitals and universities must be held for disposal in
sites yet to be developed. Compare the number of ALI's contained
in typical long-lived lab trash and the number of ALI's in the
coal ash and I think you'll see my point. Bottom line is that
neither represent a real hazard.

These are my own opinions and may not be attributed to my employer.