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From: Ayers.PA@XEROX.COM
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: "zillion fatal doses of Plutonium"
Message-ID: <860225-113525-3597@Xerox>
Date: Tue, 25-Feb-86 14:35:09 EST
Article-I.D.: Xerox.860225-113525-3597
Posted: Tue Feb 25 14:35:09 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 28-Feb-86 06:36:25 EST
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 30

Plase let's stop the "zillion fatal doses of Plutonium" non-science
nonsense in the space digest. 

Slocum@hi-multics.arpa writes that

    This orbiter carrys a load of 43 pounds of Plutonium on-board. ... 
    Plutonium is widely felt to be the most poisonous substance
anywhere, 
    even if you disregard the radioactivity.  It has been said that less
    than a pound spread thinly enough could kill every human being. Now,
    imagine the shuttle exploding with this cargo.  Ten miles up. 
    Practically maximum possible dispersion. In the very least, several 
    thousand, perhaps several hundred thousand people would develop 
    cancer and plutonium poisoning.
    
This statement is not science. It fails the basic agree-with-the-data
test.

I pointed out earlier that much much more than 43 pounds of Pu has been
vaporized in the upper atmosphere by A-Bomb tests. "Maximum possible
dispersion" indeed -- we're not talking about a break-apart here, but
genuine vaporization-and-condense-into-tiny-particles.

Slocum states that "in the very least, several thousand ... people would
develop ... plutonium poisoning" from his 43 pounds.  [Even though it
wouldn't be that well dispersed, and would be centered over the Atlantic
ocean.]

If that was true, then the entire state of Nevada's population would be
dead by now from the A-Bomb tests of the 50s and 60s.