Radiation deaths in the US.

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Richard Hull
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Radiation deaths in the US.

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I was involved in an interesting discussion elsewhere and most of the folks in the discussion were agast that I collect radioactive minerals as a hobby. "aren't you afraid of dying?!" "Isn't it very dangerous?" Typical responses, of course.
The very word "radiation" brings up images in the minds of the great uninformed masses of rapid or immediate death.

We were discussing radiation deaths related to defense, medical nuclides, nuclear research and power industry accidents in this country from acute exposure...(Death within a short period, say, days or less than a month or even a year after exposure).

I noted that the total deaths due to acute nuclear materials exposure since 1900 related to the above might be far less than the US death toll on highways for one single month, to which, they all effectively called me a liar.

I did some checking. In the nuclear power industry the total is one person, thus far. In the military and defense end, there are about 20 within that frame work. Medical nuclides have only 4 workers killed. Thus, the total number of acute exposure deaths in the U.S. since 1900 is less than 30!!

Now if you throw in stupid medical diagnostic and treatment accidents, (X-ray and cobalt machines), the number swells to over 120, but those are not nuclear materials accidents.

Deaths due to cronic exposure to moderate levels of radiation, (miners, technicians and other workers who did not die for years even after a bad acute exposure is much harder to quantify due to hype on both sides of the issue. Forecast death figures are worthless. Complications arising from 92% of all miners in the 40's, 50's and 60's being heavy smokers added to high radon levels, is again just a guess as many of the Marlboro men, no filter, two pack of "luckies" a day miners lived to normal older ages for chain smokers and died of lung cancer. The rather few dial painter girls who ultimately died from "radium tipping" practices also can't be added to the death toll stated above. as they never had an external acute exposure.

How many of us auto drivers die in a month in the U.S. alone?...between 3000 to 6000.

My question is that how many of these rad haters and ill informed idiot people have a deathly fear of their automobiles? Since 1899, 3,551,000 people have died in car related deaths in the U.S. alone. Figuring on what was touted above,
if you are an 8 hour a day nuclear worker, you have a 120,000 times greater chance of dying coming and going from work in your car than from acute nuclear exposure! Both kill you quickly compared to the life you could have had.

So casual, highly intermittent exposure to even rather stiff radiation sources probably push your chances of a slightly shorted life to being killed in a car crash to 100's of millions maybe even a billion to one.

I have to go out to meet some friends for dinner tonight and I am scared out of my mind!....I am perpetually afraid of my car or even being near it!

Richard Hull
Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
Jeroen Vriesman
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Re: Radiation deaths in the US.

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Richard Hull
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Re: Radiation deaths in the US.

Post by Richard Hull »

Thanks for report from India. The sands of India and Sri Lanka are amoung the richest thorium bearing sands on earth.

While not proving hormesis, the report kind of shows some chronic, (life long), elevated gamma exposures are not significant indicators for cancers.

Richard Hull
Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
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