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Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site watnot.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!watnot!wcjanzen
From: wcjanzen@watnot.UUCP (Craig Janzen)
Newsgroups: net.followup,net.physics
Subject: Re: Nuclear Accidents and boiling water
Message-ID: <11868@watnot.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 7-Jul-86 15:56:01 EDT
Article-I.D.: watnot.11868
Posted: Mon Jul  7 15:56:01 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 8-Jul-86 04:38:48 EDT
References: <2149@ihlpg.UUCP>
Reply-To: wcjanzen@watnot.UUCP (Craig Janzen)
Distribution: net
Organization: Conrad Grebel College, U of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 17
Xref: watmath net.followup:6802 net.physics:4594
Summary: 

>> >Re: boiling removes radioactivity from water??
>> >I think the idea of boiling water to remove radioactive contaminants
>> >is preposterous (I'm curious as to the authenticity of the original
>> >suggestion.)

>> I was the original poster of this article.  I posted it to net.jokes as
>> well so that everybody could have a good laugh at how stupid the British
>> Embassy in Moscow was.  It was their suggestion.  Their reasoning was 
>> that radioactivity was like something like cholera germs, and could be 
>> killed off by boiling.  (Yes it's true).

>Actually, it's not totally preposterous.  If a radioactive gas was
>dissolved in the water, boiling the water would cause it to bubble
>off.

And then the water could be distilled leaving behind all the solid
radioactive waste.