Subject: Re: OT: Voyager watts

From: chris <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon May 12 14:09:00 2003

> What most where worried about was just the accidental
>spread of radioactive material in the atmosphere. I don't know
>about you but I don't like breathing that stuff if I don't
>have to.

Knowing NOTHING about radioactive material (other than its amazing what 
simple items will set off my fire department's old geiger counter)... 
would an explosion really pose a health hazard? Are we talking about 
enough of a quantity to cause an issue (I don't know how deadly it is, so 
I don't know what kind of an airborn PPM is needed to be a problem).

-chris
<http://www.mythtech.net>

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From: Ethan Dicks <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon May 12 14:16:00 2003

> simple items will set off my fire department's old geiger counter)... 

Peanut Butter.  Seriously.  Cigarette Smoke, too (Polonium, IIRC).

> I don't know what kind of an airborn PPM is needed to be a problem).

ISTR a fatal dose of inhaled plutonium is 50 mcg.  Considering there
are kgs of PU238 in an RTG, that's a lot of doses.  It's just a matter
of how close you are to the plume.

-ethan
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