Last edited Wed Oct 3, 2018, 03:37 PM - Edit history (1)
...a huge number of people have had somatic mutations, some but not all resulting in carconogenesis, from endogenous Potassium 40. It has a very energetic decay level, on the order of MeV.
Of course, in the sense that radiation drives germ mutations - as do chemotoxic planar molecules by the way - this may account for the existence of human beings, since evolution is driven by mutation. Planar molecules that insert into major and minor groove of DNA are PAHs in dangerous fossil fuel waste and PDBE flame suppression agents in electronic waste is teams a well known mutagenic mechanism demonstrated by high resolution mass spec.
PDBEs and PAHs are found in every living thing on this planet in known physiologically problematic amounts.
By contrast, radioisotopes although present in amounts so low as to complicate epidemiological studies in such a way as to differentiate effects from noise, are not known to be anywhere near physiological meaningful physiological relevant levels, since they are swamped by potassium, and in seafood by Po 210. The authors of the Fukushima Tuna Fish paper in PNAS were clearly exasperated by the public reaction to their paper in which they made this reality very clear.
This is not about money or "bucks." This about risk management.
If, I think that radiation regulation does not reflect risk/benefit reality, being too absurdly strict for radiation and not nearly strict enough on combustion products, this does not make me a White supremacist Neonazi Trump supporter. If Trump does something right albeit for the wrong reason, I am not about to insist he do the wrong thing for an ersatz "right" reason.
The Volkswagen bug probably prevented some air pollution deaths in the 1950s and 1960s by having better gas mileage than other cars in that era. The fact that Hitler ordered the car's development has no bearing on that fact.
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