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Speaking as a person whose nephew received support from the US Government, and the government put him thru college, his father was a Vietnam Vet, subjected to agent orange. Tom died of brain cancer, first cause of death, followed by second cause of death secondary tumor in the lungs. I'm sure he would have preferred living.
That is a shocking video Glennoid. I'm not sure I should have watched it. DU is a war crime, hadn't thought of it like that until now, except for the fact that I've read that it's half life is 500,000,000 that is 500 million years!
I always wondered why we didn't load up the nuclear waste onto barges attached to a Space shuttle and launch it into the moon for disposal. It is a fact that Nevada doesn't want it, and every other state is of the NIMBY mode. If people knew the highways where this stuff travels, they would be appalled and concerned also. Looks like we have figured out a new way to transport and rid ourselves DU, to a point. Who is profiting Dupont, Lockheed Martin, I have not one clue.
mella l
Edited by - mella l on 08/23/2007 15:19:46
mella l
Art and Science
bytheSEA
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There is a FUNDAMENTAL misconception. The Truth is that the longer the halflife, the less dangerous is the nuclide. For example. In medicine, a common radionuclide used is Technecium 99m. Its T1/2 is 6 hours. It is widely used in nuclear medicine studies. It decays to Technicium 99. (the m stands for metastable) Tc99's T1/2 is millions of years. It is not a problem because all that means is that it gives off MUCH less radioactivity per unit time. So, the longer the T1/2, the less radioactive and dangerous. The ultimate is nonradioactive substances which have a T1/2 of infinity. The most dangerous substances have short half lives and high specific activity.
In short, DU is a wimp. It has very low specific activity and very low photon energy. There are lots of other things to fear more, including drunk drivers, smoking, drinking, drug use, and lava.
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"In short, DU is a wimp."
tell that to all the iraqi children growing up and breathing the crap in daily, freedom on the march!
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quote:
Tc99's T1/2 is millions of years. It is not a problem because all that means is that it gives off MUCH less radioactivity per unit time. So, the longer the T1/2, the less radioactive and dangerous.
Does this make sense? The uranium and plutonium radioactive wastes from power plants have a half-life of hundreds of thousands (millions?) of years and are extremely dangerous. That's why there are so many fights about storing the stuff. Perhaps not all materials emit radiation equally over their lifetime.
Maybe the army could use it in Iraq. That would take care of alot of the problems over there.
mella,
[quote]his father was a Vietnam Vet, subjected to agent orange. Tom died of brain cancer]
one of my profs at Berkeley lost her husband the same way. Agent Orange exposure. Brain tumor. They had a newborn baby. The military has a history of being reckless with toxic substances -- for the "greater good."
I don't trust them either, but as I have family in Waikoloa Village which is downwind of the Saddle, I sure hope this scare is overblown, so to speak.
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quote:
Maybe the army could use it in Iraq. That would take care of alot of the problems over there.
Ohhh...such a charming thoughtful well-considered compassionate reply, Firey-one.
In case you hadn't heard, DU has been used in Iraq (and elsewhere) for years...and it affects not only their kids, but ours as well.
Checking out this website might be a good first step in gaining some insight into the problem.
http://www.gulfwarvets.com/du.htm
In addition...it wouldn't hurt for you to take a good hard look at the video-link Glennoid posted above either.
Forgive me for posting it again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2tTLmR1Dyo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Edited by - malolo on 08/26/2007 10:03:39
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Anyone seen the photo's on the web of the effects of DU on children born to those exposed? Take a good look.
This is no joke. The stuff's active for billions of years.
Yes, they know and they don't care.
That's the reality.
One more brick in the wall...
Aloha,
Lee
http://members.cruzio.com/~lionel/event
Yeah, right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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quote:
Maybe the army could use it in Iraq. That would take care of alot of the problems over there.
Have you even read on of the articles or looked at any of the links people are trying to discuss here. I didn't think so, so S_ _U. Add to the discussion or ignore it please.
mella l
mella l
Art and Science
bytheSEA
