Re[4]: Side of a volcano

[Ruth Weiner <rfweine@sandia.gov>]

Well, actually, I was in the Pacific Northwest when Mt. St. Helen's blew, and I 
had many friends who were in the fallout plume.  I was not; I lived in the NW 
corner of Washington (Bellingham) and the plume blew by far south of us.  The 
plume travelled ENE toward the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area and the heaviest ash 
fallout was in Ritzville, WA.  Anyone can calculate the dilution by dispersion 
(D stability, ground level wind speed about 2 m/sec, release height above 
Spokane ground level, about 8000 ft, etc.)  Some inhalation, yes; ingestion, no.
 Most of the ash was considerably larger than the 10 microns usually considered 
respirable (I saw it spotting the vegetation when I was hiking around Snoqualmie
Pass about a year after the eruption).  The radioactive content and 
concentration were like that of crustal dust because it was, after all, crustal 
dust.  Good fertilizer, too, because this was mineral ash.  I know of no 
documented health effects from inhalation of radioactive emissions from Mt. St 
Helen's, and the eruption was in 1981.  There were of course some health 
effects: some loggers were killed outright because the "red zone" was not large 
enough, the famous resident of the mountain, Harry Truman (not THE Harry Truman,
of course) was killed, and the ash formed a slick surface on the highways that 
snarled traffic and resulted in a number of accidents and deaths.  As I recall, 
people in the Spokane area wore masks for a while to keep from breathing the 
dust, but they were generally more worried about dust inhalation than inhaling 
radioactive material.

Clearly only my own opinion.

Ruth Weiner
rfweine@sandia.gov

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: RE: Re[2]: Side of a volcano
Author:  ChrisM@wipp.carlsbad.nm.us at hubsmtp
Date:    8/6/98 6:48 AM


You should have been in the Northwest if you believe that there was no 
ingestion/inhalation from the St. Helens eruption
     
Chris A. Marthaller
Sr. Training Coordinator - WIPP
ChrisM@wipp.carlsbad.nm.us
Obviously, only my own views
     
     
-----Original Message-----
From: Franz Schoenhofer [mailto:schoenho@via.at] 
Sent: Thursday, August 06, 1998 6:02 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: Re: Re[2]: Side of a volcano
     
     
Steven,
     
Radium is not harmless, if ingested, but I hardly believe that debris 
from a volcano would be ingested.
     
Franz
     
     
Franz Schoenhofer
Habicherg. 31/7
A-1160 Vienna
Austria
Tel.: +43-1-495 53 08
Fax.: same number
mobile phone: +43-664-338 0 333
e-mail: schoenho@via.at
     
Office:
Federal Institute for Food Control and Research 
Department of Radiochemistry
Kinderspitalg. 15
A-1095 Vienna
Austria
Tel.: +43-1-40 491 520
Fax.: +43-1-40 491 540
e-mail: schoenhofer@baluf.via.at
************************************************************************ 
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription 
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html 
************************************************************************ 
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription 
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html
************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html