Nuclear Energy Factoid

Journalists that write that a tiny speck of plutonium inhaled into a lung will certainly cause cancer are wrong. It's also wrong to say that a small amount of plutonium introduced into a water supply would endanger large populations. Health physicist whose job it is to deal with radiation exposures say that plutonium is no worse than other more common naturally occurring elements like radium and thorium. In order to receive a dose of plutonium with a toxic effect one would have to be within a few meters of the source. Further away and wind and air turbulence would rapidly dilute any aerosol. As far as water is concerned, plutonium would settle out quickly in any body of water and the gut doens't absorb plutonium very well anyway. Out of 26 workers who were exposed to plutonium during the days of the Manhattan Project only one developed a cancer that could be related to his exposure. Most lived quite well into their eighties. Oil fields and coal minest are much more dangerous.