[Rockhounds] Dose Makes the Poison / Radioactive?

[erich kern]

Thanks for that quote, Kay. 

It was Dr. Bruce Ames, Nobel laureate and toxicologist who said it:

"The dose makes the poison"  

In the case of radioactivity, unlike chemical toxins,  the dose consists of three factors, Intensity of the source, proximity to the source, and exposure time. 

I know members of our local gem & mineral club who should know better, but are creeped out by radioactive specimens. 

It's all the greenie hype as you said. 

This is no trivial matter. If we ever have a radiological attack here, many people who are perfectly safe will be hysterical because it's "radiation". 

It's difficult to make rational decisions in a climate of unwarranted fear. 

Cheers,
Erich Kern
Murrieta, California 


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Kay Davis 
To: 'Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem collectors' 
Sent: Monday, September 14, 2009 7:48 AM
Subject: RE: [Rockhounds] Radioactive?


And even Inhalation isn't a death sentence... 

People talk about a miniscule amount of Plutonium being a death sentence...
But if you look at the historical information from various accidents and
occupational exposure, it turns out that it's dependant on all kinds of
other parameters as well.

Radioactivity isn't so bad, despite the greenie's hyp .....

As a well known science writer put it ... 

The poison is in the dose... 

A large amount of water
More than a few grams of Tylenol
A much smaller amount of arsenic
Etc etc

Lower the exposure (Distance and time, wash it off you)
Make it less reactive  Hydrogen cyanide as compared to potassium
ferrocyanidee. (or Cobalt-60 compared to U235 compared to U238)

The dose that a person is exposed to with any non refined naturally
occurring radioactive specimen kept in a plastic container or a glass jar is
less toxic than the lead dose you get by living in some suburbs of
Washington DC and drinking only tap water.

:D I like radioactivity, it's easy to measure with a few simple tools unlike
that piece of cinnabar sitting on the display shelf that was freshly mined
from a rich node.....

Just my 2 cents worth
Kay 







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