Re: Radioactivity in sewer sludge

[High Plains Drifter <magna1@jps.net>]

All well and fine for a make work project.  How will you
discern the NORM contribution in the millions of tons of
phosphate bearing fertilizers being applied nation wide. 
Further more, a seat of the pants guess is that more
radioactivity is coming into the pathway up front (drinking
water and irrigation) than would be entering from the
sewer-agriculture route (execpt for the japenese beef
production project in the Napa Vally).  Keeping discharges
of long lived isotopes ALARA will ensure that the
contribution from the sewer-agriculture route is essentially
nil in a total health risk perspective.  Evidently a risk
benefit analysis had not been perform prior to expending
funds for this project.  Since most discharges of any
magnitude is conducted by a licensed entity - the regulators
can crank down on the releases, if really necessary, and
eliminate any real possible pathway problem.

High Plains Drifter 
magna1@jps.net
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