RE: Newspaper article on Plutonium

["Robert M. Loesch" <loesch@spok.eh.doe.gov>]

	Radsafers:

	The heaters and power cells that contain the Pu-238 are 
	produced by DOE.  As with any launch containing Pu-238, DOE
	in intimately involved in the mission planning and will be present
	in mission control on launch day. The Cassini mission is currently
	scheduled for 4:30AM on Oct. 6 (there is a 40-day launch window).
	The vehicle will contain 23.5kg of Pu-238 (73lbs PuO2).  The
	material is contained in 3 RTG's each containing 18 blocks with
	2 capsules each (108 capsules total) and also 129 RHU's (heater
	units) to keep equipment warm (the little range rover on Mars 
	contains RHU's on the axles to keep them from freezing up).
	Current calculations indicate that a pre-launch accident would 
	release <0.2gm as respirable fines and an early launch accident
	would release <0.7gm.  The individual capsules containing the
	Pu-238 are themselves multi-layered capsules and the overall
	design was such to withstand launch and reentry accidents.
	After seeing the presentation on the capsule design and the
	tests that were performed, including being subjected to plasma
	jets, the major problem after a launch accident would be trying
	to locate all the individual capsules which would be somewhat
	scorched but intact.

	60-minutes could do the world a great service by showing the
	effort that scientists went to in designing the individual capsules to
	protect them from most any type of conceivable incidents.
	Fear causes stress which everyone knows is a significant cause
	or contributor to health detriment.  Maybe after the public is
	done with the tobacco industry, they should consider the medical
	problems that may be caused by induced stress from such
	scare tactics.


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            _/ _/                _/ _/              _/_/_/_/            Robert M. Loesch
          _/     _/           _/     _/           _/                      US Department of Energy
        _/         _/     _/           _/       _/                      EH-52, GTN, 270CC
      _/          _/   _/               _/    _/_/_/_/            19901 Germantown Road	
    _/         _/       _/           _/     _/                      Germantown, MD  20874-1290
  _/        _/           _/      _/       _/                      Tel: 301 903-4443;  Fax: -7773
_/ _/ _/                _/ _/          _/_/_/_/            loesch@spok.eh.doe.gov
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              "The definition of a public health disaster is a catastrophe so large
                   that an epidemiologic study can detect it."    David Ozonoff