Re: K40 in dead sea

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

Schoenhofer
Habichergasse 31/7
A-1160 Wien
AUSTRIA
Tel./Fax: +43-1-4955308
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e-mail: schoenho@via.at
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: Quastel <maay100@bgumail.bgu.ac.il>
An: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
Datum: Mittwoch, 18. Februar 1998 19:45
Betreff: K40 in dead sea


>        This is a continuation of the string on radiation exposure from
K40.
>
>        The Dead Sea contains contains 16 grams K per liter (approximately
>8 times the average concentration in humans). At a risk of affecting our
>tourist trade, I would like to ask what the estimated radiation exposure
>would be to a bather floating say for 1/2 an hour in that saturated
>solution.
>
>
>                                Mike Quastel
>                                Soroka Medical Center and
>                                Ben Gurion University of the Negev
>                                Beer Sheva, Israel
>                                Fax: +972-7-6400765
>                                Email: maay100@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
>
>
>
>>Specific activity of K-40 is 853 pCi/g K or about 30 Bq/g K according to
>>Eisenbud (p. 407 in Environmental Radioactivity, 1987) and there is
>>about 140 g K in 70 kg man or 4400 Bq of K-40.  Therefore, 20 MBq is too
>>high as is the claim for C-14 (specific activity = 6.1 pCi/g C = 0.23
>>Bq/g C).
>>
>>I still agree with Franz.
>>
>>Lauri Kaihola
>>Wallac Oy
>>POB 10
>>FIN-20101 Turku
>>Finland
>><lauri.kaihola@wallac.fi>
>>http://www.wallac.fi
>>
>>
>>
>>> I totaly agree with Franz:
>>> One should not create problems where there are none.
>>>
>>> By the way:
>>> A typical adult (70 kg) contains about 20 MBq natural K-40 in their
>>> muscles.
>>> There are almost as much C-14.
>>> (see: http://kermaosf.medphysics.wisc.edu/~empw/)
>>>
>>> Is this then also a problem?
>>>
>>> Urban
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------

For your information:

The dead sea does not only contain a lot of potassium, but the concentration
of radium-226 is very high - I do not remember how much it was exactly. So
be careful, not to swallow the water - I expect that it will taste very
salty!

Franz