Re: plutonium -Reply

["Dr. Marvin Goldman" <mgoldman@ucdavis.edu>]

>Wes,
>
>Considering the number of plutonium workers we have had over the last hal
>century and the lack of any discernible adverse health effects leads me to
>suspect
>that plutonium is not in the front rank of the toxic materials.  Certainly
>on a mg/kg
>basis and looking at deterministic effects, a host of radionuclides are
>more toxic
>than plutonium.
>
>Charlie Willis
>caw@nrc.gov

But for most people the issue is not deterministic effects, but
probabilistic or stochastic effects.  And in the body Pu is a very
effective carcinogen in those organs in which it may be found, not uniquely
so, but it's alphas can do what alphas can on a Bq /kg basis (not mg/kg).
Marvin Goldman