Radiation in Iraq equals 250,000 Nagasaki bombs
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Cheese Head
- Banned
- Posts: 918
- Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 13.39
- Location: Rockhampton, Australia
Havnt people stopped going on about Iraq? As soon as people get over it, newspapers will be having free pull outs about the people to build up a valuable collection of history. How touching.
» James »
I don't know my future after this weekend, and I don't want to
I don't know my future after this weekend, and I don't want to
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MrTomServo
- Posts: 161
- Joined: Mon 11 Aug, 2003 14.15
- Location: California
Here's perhaps a less sensationalist story about DU, but no less upsetting.
The 400,000 number is highly misleading, though ... it might be true if you put all of that material in one big pile. Since gamma radiation is, well, radiation, it weakens at a rate consistent with the square of the distance from the source. A fine dust of it gives low doses over time, but radiation can accumulate in the body (especially with iodine radiation ... but we're talking uranium here). I'm not saying it's healthy, but I'm not saying it's like 400,000 atomic bombs here, either.
Everyone has some uranium in their body, and everyone is exposed to it every day in some form or fashion. Just in very small doses.
And the "getting an x-ray every hour" statement is hilarious. A standard dentist's x-ray gives you the same amount of radiation as sitting in front of the television for 30 minutes. The very same. And you lot should know something about sitting in front of the television.
The 400,000 number is highly misleading, though ... it might be true if you put all of that material in one big pile. Since gamma radiation is, well, radiation, it weakens at a rate consistent with the square of the distance from the source. A fine dust of it gives low doses over time, but radiation can accumulate in the body (especially with iodine radiation ... but we're talking uranium here). I'm not saying it's healthy, but I'm not saying it's like 400,000 atomic bombs here, either.
Everyone has some uranium in their body, and everyone is exposed to it every day in some form or fashion. Just in very small doses.
And the "getting an x-ray every hour" statement is hilarious. A standard dentist's x-ray gives you the same amount of radiation as sitting in front of the television for 30 minutes. The very same. And you lot should know something about sitting in front of the television.