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As others have said, depleted uranium is not very radioactive. The real problem with it is not radioactivity (despite the association with nuclear bombs), but because it's extremely toxic, like lead but worse. The only DU here (that we know of) is from the dummy Davy Crockett warheads fired at PTA, and probably not much of an issue. The much bigger problem is when DU is used for anti-tank rounds, which smash into small pieces and dust and contaminate water.
Also, while it's not strongly radioactive, it decays by emitting alpha particles. These are large enough that external ones are stopped by your skin, but if you ingest it they can cause cancer or other problems.
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With DU having a half-life of over 4 billion years, I'm more worried about the bananas!
I think there's plenty of DU here. Try Hilo airport.
Yes, DU is a heavy metal and should be treated with caution, especially in powdered form. But anyone who lists it between Strontium-90 and Plutonium (as in the original post) obviously either doesn't know what they're talking about, or are trying to spread fear through misinformation. So much for "demystify science in order to enlighten and empower people".
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luv those 200 pound bananas!
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http://news.yahoo.com/pockets-high-radia...17942.html
Meanwhile back at the ranch, some media reports of radioactive automobile air filters in the pacific northwest are surfacing as the Fukushima disaster and its fallout spreading hawaii and the mainland are quietly swept under the rug.............
http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffmcmahon/2011...mont-milk/
radioactive wild boar in germany result of Chernobyl:
http://news.discovery.com/animals/radioa...umber.html
edit = forbes / discovery link
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Why are you posting links from April? It hasn't been "swept under the rug", it's been at near-undetectable levels in US milk since June:
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/node/2174
and in the air, water, and vegetation since early April:
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/UCBAirSampling
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Try reading the stories again. They're about hot spots within the plant, probably filters that have concentrated the radioactive material. That could pose a problem if they interfere with shutting down the reactors fully, and obviously they have to figure out what to do with them, but little or nothing has been coming out of the plant for months. The real problem is the contamination of the immediate area, which is going to be around for a very long time.
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Bullwinkle - what on earth is the connection between the links you gave and depleted uranium on the Big Island?
Tom
http://apacificview.blogspot.com/
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I felt a bit awkward making those comments my first post, only to be ridiculed. I think the banana radiation bit would be cold comfort to the mothers in Fallujah. Did any of you even google it to see the images, or the video? Personally it was heartwrenching to me. I know we are surrounded by radiaton, granite countertops for instance. I have formica- probably full of formaldehyde!
And Bullwinkle, those up to date releases about Fukushima are awful! The people of Japan are, and will continue to be, those most affected by this tragedy.
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TomK:
from my earlier post on the topic:
quote "Meanwhile back at the ranch, some media reports of radioactive automobile air filters in the pacific northwest are surfacing as the Fukushima disaster and its fallout spreading to hawaii and the mainland are quietly swept under the rug............."
