Then we should avoid potassium, because potassium 40 is mildly radioactive, with a shorter half life that U238. Of course, we need potassium to live. Oh, well.

Again, DU has a very long half-life and emits very little radiation. Further, we are already exposed to uranium in the environment. Breathing heavy DU dust or eating substantial amounts of DU is not a good idea, but then the same can be said for many other substances - many of which are far more dangerous. And, more uranium is put into the environment by burning coal than in direct use.

The one really effective way DU kills is when it is used in weapons, but again, it is not unique in this roll.

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I say there is an invisible elf in my backyard. How do you prove that I am wrong?

Disclaimer: Avatar is not an official NASA image and does not imply any specific interplanetary or interstellar capability.

The Leif Ericson Cruiser

Hi, Just because nuclear isotopes most often take their time killing you and making you sick, nonethe less removes nothing from the certain fact that they are most insideous, and have no place being released into the environment for ANY purpose.

You're right. So when will the politicians get off their rears and do something about all that O-16 in the air?

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"Slapping a guy on the head is just as funny now as it was eighty years ago."

what about the C-14?

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Howling from the Shadows

It must be fun to lead a life completely unburdened by reality. --- JayUtah

You can't reason an irrational person out of an irrational belief. --- Noclevername

Apollo: The History and the Hoax
Enter the World of Athran

How about the americium-241 in smoke detectors?

__________________
I calculated the odds of this succeeding versus the odds I was doing something incredibly stupid...and I went ahead anyway. - Crow T. Robot

Godspeed, John Glenn. - Scott Carpenter

And these atomic bombs that science burst upon the world that night were strange even to the men that used them.
- H.G Wells, The World Set Free

To the conspiracy crowd, radiation is a big Boogey Man that inspires terror and death in all who encounter it. - JayUtah

The biggest radiation problem (except in a few specific areas where uranium mining tailings are an issue) is radon gas. Most homes in the U.S. have measurable levels, and the more energy efficient the house is, the more of a problem it is.

It seems odd to be concerned about DU when there are much more significant radiation sources in the environment that are well known, widespread, and remediable.

On the other hand, much of the DU exposure is due to human activity. Before 1940 Uranium was rarely used for anything, and there was little mining. Today it's out of the ground and into the environment. It doesn't hurt to pay attention to any possible effects.

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Bring back Firefly!

"It is quite clear that Occam's razor does not sharpen in your pyramid." (Nicolas)

"Still, a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest." (Paul Simon)

Heh, ground water and Natural Gas are both large carriers of Radon, and we pump both into our homes in copious quanities.

__________________
Howling from the Shadows

It must be fun to lead a life completely unburdened by reality. --- JayUtah

You can't reason an irrational person out of an irrational belief. --- Noclevername

Apollo: The History and the Hoax
Enter the World of Athran

It wasn't mined directly, but uranium was mined and excess uranium released into the environment long before 1940. From here:

http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/...t/colmain.html


Using these data, the releases of radioactive materials per typical plant can be calculated for any year. For the year 1982, assuming coal contains uranium and thorium concentrations of 1.3 ppm and 3.2 ppm, respectively, each typical plant released 5.2 tons of uranium (containing 74 pounds of uranium-235) and 12.8 tons of thorium that year. Total U.S. releases in 1982 (from 154 typical plants) amounted to 801 tons of uranium (containing 11,371 pounds of uranium-235) and 1971 tons of thorium. These figures account for only 74% of releases from combustion of coal from all sources. Releases in 1982 from worldwide combustion of 2800 million tons of coal totaled 3640 tons of uranium (containing 51,700 pounds of uranium-235) and 8960 tons of thorium.

Power plant capacity was smaller back before 1940, but they also had little control over particulate release. Further, you can find (naturally) a little uranium in your backyard, a little in seawater or a chunk of granite.

Certainly it's reasonable to be careful, but the evidence just doesn't point to some special danger in this case.

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I say there is an invisible elf in my backyard. How do you prove that I am wrong?

Disclaimer: Avatar is not an official NASA image and does not imply any specific interplanetary or interstellar capability.

The Leif Ericson Cruiser

Could that cause ill effects in a house that's rarely open to outside air?
I ask because one summer I was at my sister's place, and she rarely had the windows open. After a week of staying there, I woke up each morning feeling ill.

The only source for radon would've been water; she had electric heat.

__________________
I calculated the odds of this succeeding versus the odds I was doing something incredibly stupid...and I went ahead anyway. - Crow T. Robot

Godspeed, John Glenn. - Scott Carpenter

And these atomic bombs that science burst upon the world that night were strange even to the men that used them.
- H.G Wells, The World Set Free

To the conspiracy crowd, radiation is a big Boogey Man that inspires terror and death in all who encounter it. - JayUtah

I grew up in a place where the water pump station had to have Radon "traps" to filter out the gas that was dissolved in in the source stream. The stream had its source in a hill that had enough Uranium in the granite mix to be minable. Right now, I live in a place whose local granite contains a pretty large fraction of Pechblände. When I took the radioactivity lab as part of the nuclear physics course, the place with the highest amount of background radiation was the front stairs of the physics building (which we noted as a pretty bad place to pass out drunk). The Geiger counter went nuts, as opposed to the actual radioactivity lab room where it was almost quiet.

Radioactivity is everywhere around us, whether we like it or not. The question is if the added amount is high enough to be noticeable in comparison.

Grand_Lunar, unless you approach lethal levels, you're not likely to feel a thing. From your description, I'd be thinking of allergy or oversensitivity to mold or common house mite.

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"We do not require reality to conform to the expectations of the ignorant"

Very doubtful. Radon is a carcinogen, but doesn't cause illness of the type you describe (as far as I know). It's much more likely that the house contained an allergen that caused your reaction, probably some dust or pollen that was different than those found in your usual residence.

Radon is often outgassed from below the slab or basement floor, and/or the basement walls. I don't really know how much that source contributes compared to water or heating fuel; it probably depends on the specific conditions in the house in question.

If you own a home and haven't run a radon test, it's a very good idea to do so. You can get them at hardware stores and home centers. You expose a small unit to the environment (usually in the basement) for a period of time (several weeks), then mail it to a processing center for analysis.

If you do have high radon levels, it's not terribly expensive to mitigate them. It generally involves increasing the rate of air exchange, which may also involve a heat exchanger so you don't blow a lot of warm air out.

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Bring back Firefly!

"It is quite clear that Occam's razor does not sharpen in your pyramid." (Nicolas)

"Still, a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest." (Paul Simon)

Thanks guys.
I think it might have been allergies as well. I felt like I had an upset stomach, but the feelings went away. It also didn't feel as bad as when I was outside.
I hardly get the feeling at my own home; must be because of a greater air exchange.

Good to know it isn't radon.
BTW, what sort of radioactivity does radon produce? Alpha? Beta? Both?

__________________
I calculated the odds of this succeeding versus the odds I was doing something incredibly stupid...and I went ahead anyway. - Crow T. Robot

Godspeed, John Glenn. - Scott Carpenter

And these atomic bombs that science burst upon the world that night were strange even to the men that used them.
- H.G Wells, The World Set Free

To the conspiracy crowd, radiation is a big Boogey Man that inspires terror and death in all who encounter it. - JayUtah

I spent 3 1/2 years in the 101st Airborne after attending Airborne and Ranger school. Since then, I have spent 13 years as a Nurse. Credentials and experience are a marvelous thing, no?

As do we all.

__________________
"I have this theory that the Apollo missions were faked when NASA found out that general relativity was wrong because the Earth was expanding due to the Sun's iron core being influenced by magnetic waves from the electric universe after being perturbed by Planet X and thereby causing global warming. Where should I start a thread about this?" ~ ToSeek

"Those are the people that wonder how a thermos knows whether to keep something hot or keep something cold." ~ NeoWatcher

Cornwall has problems with Radon in house basements, esp on Broken granite

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'The eye can only see what the mind is prepared to accept'

You might try this site for information:
http://www.epa.gov/radon/

Edited to add:

According to the decay series chart linked from the above site, Radon itself is a 100% alpha emitter. However, some of its daughter products release alpha only, while others produce beta and gamma radiation in various proportions.

__________________
Bring back Firefly!

"It is quite clear that Occam's razor does not sharpen in your pyramid." (Nicolas)

"Still, a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest." (Paul Simon)

It only mentioned the dangers.

However, I checked the Wikipedia entry; it emits Alpha radiation.
Guess I should've looked that up in the first place, huh?

In the meantime, I'll keep as many windows and screen doors open. Thanks again.

__________________
I calculated the odds of this succeeding versus the odds I was doing something incredibly stupid...and I went ahead anyway. - Crow T. Robot

Godspeed, John Glenn. - Scott Carpenter

And these atomic bombs that science burst upon the world that night were strange even to the men that used them.
- H.G Wells, The World Set Free

To the conspiracy crowd, radiation is a big Boogey Man that inspires terror and death in all who encounter it. - JayUtah

Quite right, we had a few dosimeters scattered around the place for some months to check our radon levels. As a result, we've got an OK to show potential buyers if we move house.

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"The truth may be out there, but lies are inside your head" Terry Pratchett

One perspective that might be factored into this discussion is "Validity of the Linear No-Threshold Theory of Radiation Carcinogenesis at Low Doses"

http://www.world-nuclear.org/sym/1998/cohen.htm

I handled depleted uranium shells over thirty years ago with my bare hands. There were no ill effects. In my house I have a rock wall composed of White Rocky Mountain Crystal. Like granite, the rocks contain small amounts of radioactive material. The radiation emitted is measurable using a Geiger counter. The rocks generate a small amount of radon. My house is a well sealed house. The rock wall has been in place for over 25 years. I have observed no ill effects for myself or my family. But also during this time period I have witnessed several individuals who smoke and come down with cancer and they continue to smoke even after they undergo surgery and radiation therapy. I think there is sufficient evident that low levels of radiation may not be as harmful as some individuals have made it out to be.

I guess that's more proof that the stuff needs to go where it CAN do damage; i.e, inside you.
I wouldn't have even considered handling any form of uranium with bare hands. Still, I suppose it's safer with gloves and a good mask on, eh?

Doesn't cigerette smoke have a radioactive substance in it? I thought I heard that, but can't remember when or where.
That's nuts that even after therapy someone continues to smoke. Glad I never took up the habit.

__________________
I calculated the odds of this succeeding versus the odds I was doing something incredibly stupid...and I went ahead anyway. - Crow T. Robot

Godspeed, John Glenn. - Scott Carpenter

And these atomic bombs that science burst upon the world that night were strange even to the men that used them.
- H.G Wells, The World Set Free

To the conspiracy crowd, radiation is a big Boogey Man that inspires terror and death in all who encounter it. - JayUtah

Grand_Lunar wrote:
"Doesn't cigerette smoke have a radioactive substance in it?"

Apparently it does.
http://www.hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q3137.html