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Re: [OM] Radioactive glass

Subject: Re: [OM] Radioactive glass
From: Gregg Iverson <golftooter@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2003 22:41:26 -0400

I worked underground hard rock copper mining nearly 30 years ago . . . a mile down on a 3-story tall primary crusher to make the extracted ore small enough to get it out of the mine. Quite wet is an understatement. It was dripping, soaking wet, and I wore a respirator with a massive filter . . . along with ear muffs for hearing protection . . . 1000f the time.

What an amazing work history!

BTW, I'd be much more concerned about the silicosis from the ground up "thorium" glass also. The *real* danger around minute amounts of very low radioactive materials is NOT exposure to its radition. The very real hazard is ingesting it, by inhaling it or orally. Some elements in particular, because of their position on the Mendeleevian chart, will replace other elements in the human body and be held there for a very long time. One of the greatest hazards from fission reactors and "fallout" from nuclear tests is ingestion of Strontium 90 (a common byproduct of fission) which is readily used by the human body in lieu of Calcium and emits *Beta* particles. About a third of it that's ingested ends up in the bones and teeth. The half-life of Strontium 90 is a horrendously long 29+ years! I'm not that concerned about very low level Alpha-emitters provided they're not emitting anything else (Beta in particular). Alpha particles don't get much farther than the very outer surface of the skin which is already dead anyway.

Another ingredient is Cesium. It replaces one of the ions in the nerve cell and, because of it's larger size, cannot respond to the sodium pump. Consequently, the resting electrical potential of a nerve cell is reduced by about 25%. While studying this in college we found an interesting relationship in the amount of Cesium uptake by a human to the position on the food chain, or on the kind of foods a person eats. As the fallout settles as dust and then is consumed by animals which then store the Cesium in their tissues, there was a tenfold increase from a total vegetarian diet to a diet which also consumed eggs and milk, and another tenfold increase if meat products were consumed. Not really a part of our study, yet an interesting aside.


gregg


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