plutonium toxicity

[Bernard L Cohen <blc+@pitt.edu>]

	There may be some interest in the following letter I sent to PBS
following reactions to their FRONTLINE program:

   I understand you received correspondence from Steven Dolley
entitled "Frontline vs the Facts" in which he exaggerates the toxicity of
plutonium and then states "that is why Professor Bernard Cohen did not
offer on FRONTLINE to [ingest or inhale] plutonium to prove it safe.
Someone might actually take him up on his offer".
        My offer to ingest or inhale quantities of plutonium that nuclear
opponents have claimed to be lethal has been printed several times,
including in two books I authored, and I renew it again here and now. It
is based on my papers published in scientific journals estimating the
health risks from plutonium, and this offer is to demonstrate my
confidence in my studies. It was originally made in response to a charge
from Ralph Nader that I was trying to detoxify plutonium with my pen. At
Nader's request, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission carried out an
exhaustive examination of my work, and it concluded that my analysis was
correct.
        I would be happy to perform this plutonium ingestion and
inhalation exercise at any time.

Bernard L. Cohen

Bernard L. Cohen
Physics Dept.
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Tel: (412)624-9245
Fax: (412)624-9163
e-mail: blc+@pitt.edu