OT: Voyager watts

From: Ethan Dicks <erd_6502_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Mon May 12 14:16:00 2003

--- chris <cb_at_mythtech.net> wrote:
> Knowing NOTHING about radioactive material (other than its amazing what
> simple items will set off my fire department's old geiger counter)...

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

> 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).

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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Received on Mon May 12 2003 - 14:16:00 BST

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