Re: K40 in dead sea

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

Schoenhofer
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-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: Jonathan Dyer <Jonathan_Dyer@Brown.edu>
An: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
Datum: Mittwoch, 18. Februar 1998 20:54
Betreff: Re: K40 in dead sea


>>
>>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
>
>Understatement of the year there!  I had the pleasure of visiting the Dead
>sea in September of 1997, what a fantastic experience, Jordan is a
>wonderful country to visit.  But as for the water in the dead sea, the
>salinity content is so high the human body floats on the top of the water
>like a cork... literally!  Rub your eyes and you will run screaming from
>the water for a near-by out-door shower, at least my mother did! I was not
>aware of the radium content however.  Oh well, the Benifit of seeing such a
>place FAR outweigh the risks if, anyone gets a chance to visit the area.
>
>Enough rambling,
>
>Jonathan


Dear Jonathan,

I agree with all of my heart with your statement. Unfortunately I have never
been able to visit these sites. I hope you and fellow RADSAFERs understood
my comment, that I would rather care for the salt in the water swallowed
than the radium.

Quality of live is not necessarily to keep your exposure low by for instance
not visiting the Dead Sea!

Regards,

Franz