Interesting! Survey Work Near Chernobyl Shows Dead Trees, Leaf Litter Not Decomposing

[hunter]

31. How does this relate to what I wrote?

Have you ever poured boric acid an incandescent mass of graphite and heavy metals, some burning in air, some heated by nuclear reactions, to see what comes out? I imagine it's quite a mix of boron compounds, some of them quite exotic.

It's easy to measure the radioactive stuff, you simply look at the spectrum of energy emitted. Chemistry is more difficult.

Fungi and other decomposers are going to be sensitive to the radioactive components of the fallout, but various boron compounds are also known to inhibit decomposition.

I still maintain that a toxin is a toxin is a toxin, radioactive or not. Was the Bhopal disaster any less of a catastrophe because the toxins were not radioactive? No. Is the Picher, Oklahoma mess any less of a mess because it's not a nuclear disaster? No. (Hell that toxic waste has a half life of FOREVER!)

Should I worry any less about the carcinogenic fossil fuel particles in my lungs than the radioactive particles?



Just saying, we live in a bubbling stew of man-made toxic crap.

Believing that one category of toxic crap is somehow more evil than another category of toxic crap is a very strange religion.