Cassini plutonium controversy (was OT - lefties fail in space)

"Calvin Rice" wrote in message
ups.com...
Lefties fail again, this time in space. The Cassini spacecraft, the
launch of which lefties unsuccessfully tried to stop in 1997, arrived
in Saturn orbit last summer, and now the Huygens probe, traveling with
Cassini, has landed on the surface of Titan.

Cassini has been returning awesome images and other data for the past
half year, and now Huygens begins transmitting from another world.

A resounding scientific and inspirational success for humanity, and
another pathetic failure for the left.

I really hate to admit agreeing with you (especially as a Socialist
Libertarian) but the whole thing was a tempest in a teapot. Plutonium
doesn't worry me at all. Here's why:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium#Precautions
"All isotopes and compounds of plutonium are toxic and radioactive. While
plutonium is sometimes described in media reports as "the most toxic
substance known to man", there is general agreement among experts in the
field that this is incorrect. As of 2003, there has yet to be a single human
death officially attributed to plutonium exposure. Naturally-occurring
radium is about 200 times more radiotoxic than plutonium, and some organic
toxins like botulism toxin are still more toxic. Botulism toxin, in
particular, has a lethal dose in the hundreds of pg per kg, far less than
the quantity of plutonium that poses a significant cancer risk. In addition,
beta and gamma emitters (including the C-14 and K-40 in nearly all food) can
cause cancer on casual contact, which alpha emitters cannot.

Orally, plutonium is less toxic than several common substances, including
caffeine, acetaminophen, some vitamins, pseudoephedrine, and any number of
plants and fungi. It is perhaps somewhat more toxic than pure ethanol, but
less so than tobacco and many illegal drugs (some such as LSD and marijuana
are negligibly toxic). Considering the pure chemical toxicity it probably
ranks with lead and other heavy metals."

Ooh, scary!

--
Smith Comma John
Human Being For President

Goliath & Wildwing's Storage Room
http://anatidae.homestead.com/

james_anatidae wrote:
"Calvin Rice" wrote in message
ups.com...
Lefties fail again, this time in space. The Cassini spacecraft,
the
launch of which lefties unsuccessfully tried to stop in 1997,
arrived
in Saturn orbit last summer, and now the Huygens probe, traveling
with
Cassini, has landed on the surface of Titan.

Cassini has been returning awesome images and other data for the
past
half year, and now Huygens begins transmitting from another world.

A resounding scientific and inspirational success for humanity, and
another pathetic failure for the left.

I really hate to admit agreeing with you (especially as a Socialist
Libertarian) but the whole thing was a tempest in a teapot.
Plutonium
doesn't worry me at all. Here's why:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium#Precautions
"All isotopes and compounds of plutonium are toxic and radioactive.
While
plutonium is sometimes described in media reports as "the most toxic
substance known to man", there is general agreement among experts in
the
field that this is incorrect. As of 2003, there has yet to be a
single human
death officially attributed to plutonium exposure.
Naturally-occurring
radium is about 200 times more radiotoxic than plutonium, and some
organic
toxins like botulism toxin are still more toxic. Botulism toxin, in
particular, has a lethal dose in the hundreds of pg per kg, far less
than
the quantity of plutonium that poses a significant cancer risk. In
addition,
beta and gamma emitters (including the C-14 and K-40 in nearly all
food) can
cause cancer on casual contact, which alpha emitters cannot.

That sentance is a bit misleading. Ingestion or especially inhalation
of an alpha emitter can indeed do quite a bit of damage, which is why
smoking and eating is forbidden around radiation sources or materials.
"Casual contact" on the outside if a very different thing than
ingestion, which is definitely _not_ "casual contact."

"The PhAnToM" wrote in message
oups.com...

james_anatidae wrote:
"Calvin Rice" wrote in message
ups.com...
Lefties fail again, this time in space. The Cassini spacecraft,
the
launch of which lefties unsuccessfully tried to stop in 1997,
arrived
in Saturn orbit last summer, and now the Huygens probe, traveling
with
Cassini, has landed on the surface of Titan.

Cassini has been returning awesome images and other data for the
past
half year, and now Huygens begins transmitting from another world.

A resounding scientific and inspirational success for humanity, and
another pathetic failure for the left.

I really hate to admit agreeing with you (especially as a Socialist
Libertarian) but the whole thing was a tempest in a teapot.
Plutonium
doesn't worry me at all. Here's why:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium#Precautions
"All isotopes and compounds of plutonium are toxic and radioactive.
While
plutonium is sometimes described in media reports as "the most toxic
substance known to man", there is general agreement among experts in
the
field that this is incorrect. As of 2003, there has yet to be a
single human
death officially attributed to plutonium exposure.
Naturally-occurring
radium is about 200 times more radiotoxic than plutonium, and some
organic
toxins like botulism toxin are still more toxic. Botulism toxin, in
particular, has a lethal dose in the hundreds of pg per kg, far less
than
the quantity of plutonium that poses a significant cancer risk. In
addition,
beta and gamma emitters (including the C-14 and K-40 in nearly all
food) can
cause cancer on casual contact, which alpha emitters cannot.

That sentance is a bit misleading. Ingestion or especially inhalation
of an alpha emitter can indeed do quite a bit of damage, which is why
smoking and eating is forbidden around radiation sources or materials.
"Casual contact" on the outside if a very different thing than
ingestion, which is definitely _not_ "casual contact."

"The PhAnToM" wrote
"Casual contact" on the outside if a very different thing than
ingestion, which is definitely _not_ "casual contact."

The hazard is less from ingestion, where the material usually passes in and
out
undigested, but from aspiration, where a particle lodges in the lungs and
exposes nearby tissues to prolonged exposure.