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From: jmc@riccb.UUCP (Jeff McQuinn )
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.sci,net.bio
Subject: Re: Re: Plutonium
Message-ID: <668@riccb.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 18-Apr-86 06:58:51 EST
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Posted: Fri Apr 18 06:58:51 1986
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> 
> This was covered in my nuclear engineering class once.  Plutonium is
> relatively harmless until it is burned.  Inhale a couple of microgams of
> plutonium oxide dust and you're done for.  The good news is that it's
> hard to burn plutonium.  Nuclear explosions are one fairly good way to
> ignite plutonium, but I would guess most of it gets destroyed.
> -- 

This is almost correct, which makes it dangerous.  The facts as I know them
are as follows:

	1.)  Finely divided Pu burns just like Mg (so does Uranium)

	2.)  Pu is a bone seeker just like calcium.  In other words your bones
	     like to absorb it.  Once absorbed the Pu bombards the surrounding
	     bone cells with alpha particles.

	3.)  The lifetime body burden (as much as you can safely ingest) is
	     0.6 micrograms.  At some undefined higher level you may get
	     cancer after the proverbial 20 year waiting period due the effects
	     listed in 2 above.