Re: Plutonium

[JMUCKERHEIDE@delphi.com]

Speak of the devil !?  :-)

In the Boston Globe, Mon Sep 3, in an article titled "Nuclear fallout", sub: " 
Critics worry that planned French blasts could break seal on chamber entombing 
radioactive debris" by Clare Kittredge: 

"A leading French Green Party energy specialist...'Plutonium has a half life
of 24,000 years', said Didier Anger. 'One millionth of a gram inhaled in sea
spray can cause lung cancer in 10 years.' 

There's a map showing the site as 4000 miles from Los Angeles and 4300 miles
from Sydney and 3000 miles from Aukland. I guess so we can hold our breath
while passing by to avoid inhaling sea spray. 

(The report also says Jacques Cousteau found I-131 in plankton in the lagoon
!? :-)  And this is in the heart of Boston where some competent technical
expertise with integrity might be found if there were any journalistic
interest in providing a fact-based story instead of using any kind of
disinformation to incite public fear. 

Regards, Jim
----------------------------
> On Mon, 28 Aug 1995 CHATHO@delphi.com wrote:
> 
> > Remember the statement that Pu is the most hazardous substance/material known
> > to man?  K.K.S. (Sam) Pillay at LANL is looking for citable references - pro
> > and con - for a compliation.  Send any reference you know about to
> > s_pillay@lanl.gov (he is not a radsaf subscriber - maybe a good response will
> > get him to sing up).  My thanks for him in advance. 
> > 
> > Charles C. (Tommy) Thomas 
> > Approved by M. S. Thomas
> 
> ---The statement was frequently made by Ralph Nader about 1974-75. I am 
> reasonably sure that it came from John Gofman. My paper-- B.L.Cohen, 
> Hazards from Plutonium Toxicity, Health Phys 32: 359-379; 1977--- cites 
> three references in  Nucleonics Week, Harpers Weekly, and a National 
> Council of Churches publication. Ted Taylor was also making similar 
> statements at that time, but I can't cite a reference. My paper gives a 
> thorough analysis and rebuttal of the statement; for example, it gives 
> comparative figures for sarin, botulism toxin, and anthrax spores, as 
> well as for many chemicals.