tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493437990574291998.post8351708900185128966..comments2023-10-15T05:04:21.811-04:00Comments on The Mind of Dr. Pion: Don't believe what the press is telling you!Doctor Pionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12513786840852469648noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493437990574291998.post-16889770522378485452011-10-04T23:41:49.865-04:002011-10-04T23:41:49.865-04:00That is an excellent point, but mostly of importan...That is an excellent point, but mostly of importance for heavier isotopes (like the actinides) where there is a long decay chain. <br /><br />I-131 decays to Xe-131, which is stable and also not biologically active. <br /><br />That last detail is as important as decay chains. Biological activity is a major contributor to risk. <br /><br />Even if the I-131 daughter was radioactive (Xe-131 has a metastable state that is radioactive but not populated by beta decay), it would not be preferentially absorbed by the body. It would be ignored.Doctor Pionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12513786840852469648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493437990574291998.post-30995201042251728192011-09-30T10:41:08.065-04:002011-09-30T10:41:08.065-04:00Dr Pion, good overall but here's a tip from a ...Dr Pion, good overall but here's a tip from a former radcon worker: AFAICT, you forgot to mention radioactive *daughter products*! Think, when many nuclei decay, they don't turn into a stable isotope, but into another radioactive one. What if the DP has a half-life of a year? So say, after 80 days most of an original isotope of half-life 8 days has decayed, but leaving plenty of highly radioactive stuff with HL of one year! etc.<br /><br />I don't know the case for the Iodine (and REM also could be mix of isotopes), just making general point. <br /><br />So many well-meaning people forget, so many ill-meaning people use to deceive.<br /><br />"Fine minds make find distinctions."Neil Bateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04564859009749481136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3493437990574291998.post-88349004963616759832011-07-28T03:06:08.344-04:002011-07-28T03:06:08.344-04:00I found this graph from the xkcd blog that puts th...I found <a href="http://blog.xkcd.com/2011/03/19/radiation-chart/" rel="nofollow">this graph</a> from the xkcd blog that puts things in perspective pretty well -The Existentially Curioushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17239223767166962178noreply@blogger.com