[TheForge] Weird nucular facts

[dave mudge]

-----Original Message-----

Just finished radiation training at work.  Two "facts" that I like.

1.	A banana has enough natural radiation that if it were test material,
it would have to be controlled.
2.	Someone calculated the deaths from sun radiation each year, and the
increased risks of additional background radiation which occur due to high
elevation (i.e. Denver Colorado).  They calculated that a little over 1,000
additional deaths occur each year worldwide(statistically) due to women
wearing 1" high heel shoes.  They are 1" closer to the sun.

Go figure.
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So Grover, what if she were wearing heels and eating a bananna at the same
time?
On the serious side, what about the by-products like depleted uranium.
Not only do the bullets kill a person, but the by-products keep on killing
for generations.
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McDermott Presses Amendment to Study Possible DU Health Impacts on U.S.
Soldiers

Republican Joins Effort

For Immediate Release, May 9, 2006

Representative Jim McDermott (WA-D), today submitted an amendment to the
House Rules Committee, calling for a comprehensive study of the possible
health impacts to U.S. soldiers from the military's use of depleted uranium
(DU) munitions.  Republican Rep. Chris Shays (CT-R), joined McDermott in
requesting that the amendment be allowed for consideration to the Department
of Defense authorization (DoD) bill, which is scheduled for debate in the
House tomorrow.

"There are too many legitimate medical questions concerning possible adverse
health effects on our soldiers in Iraq from the U.S. military's use of
depleted uranium," McDermott said.  "We owe it to our soldiers to get
answers."

Earlier in this Congress, McDermott introduced H.R. 2410.  This bill calls
for a comprehensive study of health effects from exposure to DU, a study of
the environment where DU has been tested in the United States, and
mitigation and cleanup of contaminated sites, if studies find DU to be
harmful.

The Pentagon routinely states that DU is a safe and effective weapon, and
the Republican-controlled Congress refuses to hold a hearing on the issue or
McDermott's legislation.  However, many veterans of the Gulf Wars believe
that exposure to depleted uranium could be a cause of Gulf War Syndrome.

"As a medical doctor, I know the difference between a cursory and a
comprehensive study," McDermott said.  "We don't have the kind of credible,
independent, scientific evidence on which to judge DU harmful or not.  U.S.
soldiers deserve better than 'trust us,' which is what the Pentagon is
saying.  They said that before during the Vietnam War when concerns were
raised about the use of Agent Orange.  Decades later, the Pentagon finally
admitted Agent Orange was harmful.  I have the same concerns about DU."

McDermott said his amendment differs from his legislation in order to jump
parliamentary hurdles to be included in the DoD authorization bill.  The
amendment Reps. McDermott and Shays submitted calls only for a comprehensive
study of health effects on U.S. soldiers.

"I was willing to scale back my DU legislation to fit the narrow
requirements of the Rules Committee," McDermott said, "because U.S. soldiers
have every right to know if exposure to depleted uranium might harm them now
or in the future."

"Our soldiers deserve our thanks, and they deserve our commitment to a
comprehensive medical study that will answer scientifically and
independently whether DU poses health dangers."

The House Rules Committee could render a decision on the McDermott-Shays
Amendment later this evening









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