Re: Newspaper article on Plutonium

["schoenho" <schoenho@via.at>]

Schoenhofer
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> Von: StevenFrey@aol.com
> An: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
> Betreff: Re: Newspaper article on Plutonium
> Datum: Samstag, 13. September 1997 04:33
> 
> Another atmospheric event involving Pu-238 occurred during the 1970
Apollo 13
> mission. The mission carried a sizeable quantity of the radionuclide (a
> hundred pounds or more) to power instrumentation intended to be left on
the
> lunar surface. Due to the in-flight emergency, the Pu-238 never made it
to
> the lunar surface. It instead returned to Earth still aboard the Lunar
Module
> whereupon it entered the atmosphere at unchecked  velocity. Presumably
some
> or all of the plutonium source burned up and was released to the
atmosphere.
> Yet no increase in stochastic effects have ever been detected or reported
> among the peoples of the world from this event to my knowledge. So much
for
> "deadly" Cassini mission!
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Thanks for the comments of Marvin Goldman and Steven Frey. Now it is
confirmed that Pu-238 was spread in large quantities at earlier reentries
and we know that nobody was killed. Is it not possible to communicate this
to the mass media and to the persons who claim disastrous effects for the
case of burnup in the atmosphere? As Marvin pointed out, a very large
amount of Pu-239 was dispersed during the atmospheric weapons tests - and
we still live well.

Furthermore, is it not possible to tell the mass media, that it is
ridiculous to call plutonium the most dangerous thing on earth? Is it not
possible to make it clear, that naturally occuring radionuclides like
Ra-226, Ra-228, Pb-210 and Po-210 are far more hazardous and radiotoxic?
Add, that these radionuclides are abundant in drinking water and in a large
number of areas elevated?

Franz