If a radioactive substance is moved from one place, e.g. in the ground, to another place, e.g., in a smoke detector, how is that "adding" to it?
All the radioactive matter on earth is somewhere right now. When we use it, we move it from wherever it is to some place else. We don't create it. Actually, you could make an argument that by mining radioactive substances and concentrating them into reactors, bombs, or other "products", you are making the world a bit safer, since it is easier to avoid exposure to reactors, bombs, etc, than to the same substances all spread out in the ground. I never have understood quite why people get all wrapped around the axle about some things. For example, we take aluminum out of the ground, where it is one of the more abundant elements in the earth's crust, and we make beer cans out of it. But if we then put that aluminum back in the ground, e.g., by throwing empty beer cans into the dump, people get all in a lather about pollution. Why? We are just putting the aluminum back where we found it. And "wasting water". People get all wound up about using too much water. But it's not like it gets used up. It's still there after whatever we use it for. And it comes back to us from rain, etc. Why all the furor? Yeah, I know, there can be local shortages, but overall the total amount of water on earth doesn't really change, does it? Dick ________________________________ From: Bob Banever <bbane...@earthlink.net> To: silver-list@eskimo.com Sent: Thu, April 22, 2010 8:58:34 PM Subject: Re: CS>A closer look at americium 241 from a smoke detector Alan, Yes of course. Best not to add to it. I'm sure you would agree. Cheers. ----- Original Message ----- >From: Alan > Jones >To: silver-list@eskimo.com >Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2010 4:37 > PM >Subject: Re: CS>A closer look at > americium 241 from a smoke detector > >Better go live in a lead box, even the natural world is full of > it. > > > > >On Thu, Apr 22, 2010 at 6:12 PM, Bob Banever <bbane...@earthlink.net> > wrote: > >No amount of radiation is trivial. No level is safe >> and all ionizing radiation causes damage to DNA. >> > -- >Alan Jones > >"The powers not delegated to > the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, > are > reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." (Tenth Amendment > to the US Constitution) >