Is alpha radiation a "safe" radiation?
The answer.
news.bbc.co.uk
What is polonium-210?
It is a naturally occurring radioactive material that emits highly hazardous alpha (positively charged) particles.
news.bbc.co.uk
So sources of alpha radiation have to be avoided from ingestion or breathed into the lungs.
Question:Is DU safe as sand?
Answer: NO.
Thomas Watson wrong again.
Message 23388235
One gram of "Depleted Uranium" emits 15,000 radiations per second (15k Bq) These radiations are mainly alpha particles but also include Beta particles.
ratical.org
newscientist.com
I would like to comment on your excellent article on depleted uranium in Iraq (19 April, p 4).
Depleted uranium emits about 40 per cent less alpha particles than natural uranium, due to the removal of most of the uranium-235 and, more importantly, the uranium-234. Immediately after its production, that is the whole story.
However, within a few weeks of production, decay of uranium-238 re-establishes equilibrium quantities of the first two isotopes in the decay chain of uranium-238: thorium-234 and palladium-234. These are both beta emitters, and once equilibrium is established, DU emits on average two beta particles for every alpha particle. The betas from palladium-234 are particularly energetic.
These complicate the radiobiology considerably, because beta particles have much longer ranges in tissue, affecting large numbers of cells to a minor (possibly carcinogenic) extent, as opposed to the small number of cells heavily affected (probably killed) by the alpha particles.
It should be noted that the first daughter nucleus of both uranium-235 and uranium-234 is relatively long-lived, so neither contributes significantly to the radioactivity of natural uranium. Thus DU is actually quite as harmful as natural uranium in terms of beta radiation.
Finally, the Pentagon claims that uranium oxide dust is so dense that it quickly settles, and therefore poses a threat only to persons in the vicinity of the target at the time of impact. Having seen television coverage of dust storms in Iraq, I find it hard to believe that fine uranium oxide dust would somehow avoid being blown about during such storms.
From issue 2394 of New Scientist magazine, 10 May 2003, page 26
Shooting DU rounds at people whose only "armour plate" is the clothes they are wearing is just plain silly. They are supposed to be the terrorists threatening weapons of mass destruction, not us. |
