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Environment & Energy

caraher

(6,356 posts)

2. North Dakota's standard is reported in a confusing way

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Wed Jan 28, 2015, 11:12 PM

Jan 2015

North Dakota's landfills currently can only accept waste with radioactive material up to 5 picocuries, a measurement of the radioactivity found in a gram of material.

A banana has, on average, 3.5 picocuries of radiation.

The reporter should have written that the rule is 5 pCi per gram, rather than suggesting a pCi is somehow ordinarily standardized to a gram. Considering that a typical banana has a mass over 100 grams, the present regulation actually allows waste well over 100 times more radioactive per unit mass than a banana. The writing makes North Dakota's regulation seem insanely overzealous.

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Highlight:

North Dakota: oil producers aim to cut radioactive waste bills [View all] Eugene Jan 2015 OP

Like most conservatives these days, ignoring the future Panich52 Jan 2015 #1

North Dakota's standard is reported in a confusing way caraher Jan 2015 #2