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Re: U & Pu "poisoning of the environment"
In message <[email protected]> "Paul J. Ste. Marie" writes:
> > > Epidemiologic studies of workers [even wartime workers with impressive
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> > > body burdens/ exposures] in a number of uranium bomb-making centers have
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> > > found ~ no health effects.
> >
> > This is quite similar to saying that nerve gas is harmless because
> > scarcely anyone working in storage areas has been killed by it. Or
> > that bullets won't harm you because people handle crates of them and
> > they don't get shot.
>
> No, it is not. If you had read the message more carefully, you would
> have had to phrase your example as, "This is quite similar to saying
> that nerve gas is harmless because scarcely anyone who has inhaled
> substantial amounts of it has been killed by it."
In all of these cases there is a serious attempt to make sure that the
workers are not harmed by the dangerous substances involved. I must
say that the phrase "impressive body burdens" is fairly incomprehensible.
But nevertheless, my point stands: workers are carefully protected from
the plutonium and U235 in nuclear weapons plants. When their radiation
badges show what is considered a high level dose, this does not mean
that they have been exposed to anything like, say, the radiation from
a kilo of unshielded plutonium.
If radioactive substances are used as weapons, the intention will be
to do the maximum possible damage. I don't think that anyone would
survive for long after exposure to, say, a suspension of plutonium
in air designed to be breathed in, perhaps as an aerosol.
To repeat my point: you say that statistical studies of workers in
nuclear weapons plants which are specifically designed to minimize
the effects of radiation show that radiation has done little harm.
Well, I should hope so.
On the other hand I say that such studies are poor criteria for
judging the effects of radiation intended to do the maximum possible
harm. I think that this is really indisputable.
--
Jim Dixon