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Re: Radium (was: Fernald Leak)



Previous discussion:
>>Help! I've done something wrong here:
>>
>>(roughly) 20,000,000 lb x 500 g/lb = 10 x 10^9 g ?
>>4.5 x 10^9 uCi / 10 x 10^9 g = .45 uCi/g ?  lower than dirt?
>
>Now I'm confused.  Dirt has more than .45 uCi/g radium?

If I may be the first to jump on this one; the math is correct. But the
Ra-226 background is 1.0 pCi/g in dirt. (US national average = 1.0 +/- 0.83
pCi/g from ORNL/TM-7343, "State Background Radiation Levels: Results of
Measurements Taken During 1975-1979.")

Roger Halsey, 
Bechtel Systems and Infrastructure, Inc.
(No opinions, Standard disclaimers)