uranium

[Joel Baumbaugh <baumbaug@nosc.mil>]

	Radsafers,

	I have been approached by a Mr. David Hasemyer, a writer for the San Diego Union/Tribune.  He has some questions that he would like some answers to.  His questions are below.  I have given him some very "general" answers to his questions, but he needs answers with greater "depth" than I can "comfortably" give him.  I did give him some net-sites for general information, but he would appreciate some more in-depth answers from some "experts".

	If you can help him, his email address is below.  Please don't send them to me, or clutter up RADSAFE.  Please be considerate and do not "overwhelm" him with "science".  This is a good chance to contribute to a newspaper article with GOOD science.

	Melissa, I hope that this was ok to do...


	Thank you all (ahead of time)...,


	Joel Baumbaugh



	David Hasemyer <david.hasemyer@uniontrib.com>

>>
>   July 23, 1998
>> >
>   Thanks again for helping answer my questions on uranium.
>
>   >
>   My umbrella question is simply what are the possible effects to human
>health when radioactivity is present in drinking water?
>
>   
>
>   Other questions include what levels are dangerous, how are standards set,
>can it be filtered out of water, how is it detected and how safe is drinking
>water - especially that drawn from the Colorado River.
>
>   
>
>   The last question is based on the story I'm doing about a 10.5 million ton
>uranium tailings pile sitting on the banks of the Colorado River near a town
>in southeastern Utah called Moab.
>
>
>    Besides the radio active material seeping into the river, other toxic
>biproducts of the uranium milling process such as ammonia, arsenic, lead,
>vanadium, selenium, mercury, molybdenum, and nickel also are creeping into the
>water. I'm curious about possible effects they have in combination with the
>radioactivity.
>

>
>

Joel T. Baumbaugh, MPH, MHP
baumbaug@nosc.mil
Radiation Safety Officer
SSC San Diego, CA


	NOTE:	The contents of this message have not been reviewed, nor approved by the Federal Government, the U.S. Navy, my bosses or my wife... 



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