Say 'CHEESE'!
Posted on 12/04/2007 3:26:24 PM PST by VRWCmember
The absorbed dose is the whole point when it comes to the level of risk or danger posed by a given emitter, which is one of the threads of this discussion with respect to the response of the authorities to this incident.
Then why didn’t you ask if it had a higher dose rate than your basement rather than more radioactive?
It’s uranium. United Peace for Justice has declared depleted urqnium to be as bad as Agent Orange and have vowed to make it a cause clebre.
The writer apparently agrees with that effort.
Uranium like lead, is a killer where ever it is found. The press makes it so.
Chicken Little lives
Depeleted uranium has been considered to be a health hazard for a long time. It’s radioactive and toxic, and if you ingest or inhale particles they can substantially raise your risk of developing cancer. Much as I admire it as a material for bullets I don’t want to have any hanging around.
LOL
“This guy was a home x-ray hobbyist.”
Hey, you can buy these things used from the classified ads in “Backyard Reactor Enthusiast” magazine.
I know people who's whole home stereo systems fell of the back of a truck... < /sarcasm >
Say 'CHEESE'!
me to but come on this you would think would be properly tied down! Or something this is just plain crazy
Akroyd: Everything was fine until ****less here shut off the power grid.
Police Officer: Is this true?
Murray: Yes sir it is. This man has no ****.
Nuclear artillery
It will not create a high radiation area like some other materials, but our health physics folks would disagree with you on whether ingestion is a hazard. Oxide in not inherently more dangerous than metal... it is simply more apt to be inhaled or ingested. Oxide or not, its a piece of unshielded uranium inside your body, constantly emitting radiation to a single spot.
It can be used as shielding as long as it is contained, again, so it cannot be ingested.
No, it will not result in anything close to a High Rad Area. DU is significantly denser than Lead (Pb)and is used in many applications where higher energy gammas need to be shielded.
Ingestion of U or any transuranic is not a good idea, all are radioacitve and some are toxic, and some seek bone in the body. But the DU in this case is contained in a heavy gauge stainless steel container. The hazard is not the DU, it is the multi-Curie source inside that is worrisome.
Yes, I know. The poster said DU was not radioactive. I disagreed. Then I got a comment on how it was only dangerous to ingest in oxide form. Again, I disagreed. Nobody is saying it is cesium, but it is not calcium either. It is radioactive and prolonged direct exposure as occurs with ingestion or inhalation is a health physics concern. The two broad statements - it isn’t radioactive and you can even eat it - are simply wrong.
Very Very true. Any ingestion of rad materials needs to balance the risk versus benefits. In this case there are no benefits.
In this case, there was no risk, excepting a camera case breach, of a DU ingestion. Yet the article played up the “Depleted Uranium” angle. Fear-mongering if you ask me. The REAL risk is the radiography source itself. That is where the danger lies.
Anyone curious, try googling exposure to Ir-192 source, or some such. I have seen photos of a man who literally lost his A** when he picked up a loos e source and put it in his back pocket.
Radiation can be a useful tool, but at all times, must be respected for the damage it can do.
It's the Duck!
Those are the ones you put directly on clothing to look for alpha source contamination. There is a prism inside the handle and a detector and amplifier for the meter that detects the decay you mentioned.
It's not malignant or evil. I did that for 6 years and only got a bad haircut.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.