Cassini Pu

[Joel Cehn <jcehn@worldnet.att.net>]

I cringe every time I hear about the minimal consequences of complete
release of the Cassini Pu. We come across as, first, agreeing with the
chicken-littles that the Pu will come raining down, and second, that a
few megacuries of Pu is nothing to worry about.

The point we should be making is that the Pu is encapsulated to prevent
release of the Pu.  In other words, the Pu can be dangerous and we have
to treat it accordingly.  Second, we've done this before!  Pu was used
in a SNAP generator years ago--without incident.  The same scare stories
surfaced before the Gallileo probe was launched.  In other words, this
isn't the first time this has been done.

Joel Cehn
JCehn@worldnet.att.net