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Hooray Steve. Here's the one I liked; “If Cassini is sucked into the Earth's atmosphere . . ." Pretty poor understanding of basic physics here. I found the article so infantile I didn't want to answere, but you did a better job than me anyway. Bissell -----Original Message----- From: Steve <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Tuesday, May 25, 1999 11:29 AM Subject: Re: Cassini Aug 18, 1999-Environmental Ethics? > "What were they thinking?! The slightest malfunction, > miscalculation, or random collision with space debris could result > in the probe, and its deadly plutonium, re-entering earth's > atmosphere and incinerating its deadly cargo. Oh pooh. The slightest malfunction could very well send the probe hurtling into the sun. This statement is so stupid I can't believe it actually made it into print. For the probe to hit the Earth there would have to be malfunctions, miscalculations that SENT it hurtling at the Earth. Not just any old miscalclulation or random collision would work. > “NASA claims the chance of such an accident resulting in a > plutonium release is one in a million. Many do not agree with that > assessment. The isotope of plutonium used in Cassini, Pu-238, is So provide some evidence that the calculation is wrong, not just this vague drivel that many do not agree. > especially dangerous because of its rapid rate of radioactive decay. > It has a very short half-life (87.75 years) which means it emits > radiation (mainly alpha particles) at a very high rate. Although it's > true that alpha particles can be stopped by a piece of paper, when > even a tiny microscopic particle of Plutonium 238 is inhaled, the > localized radiation (the radiation to nearby cells) can cause > lung cancer and other illnesses. Plutonium Dioxide in the > environment will cause death, illness, and genetic mutations for > centuries to all life forms. For more Cassini data, go online to: > http://www.animatedsoftware.com/cassini/index.htm > > “If Cassini is sucked into the Earth's atmosphere and disintegrates, > we'll all be inhaling Plutonium Dioxide with our air. It'll be just a > matter of time before [a pandemic of lung, bone and liver cancers > and other disorders develop], and [genetic] mutations begin > manifesting. Nobody can predict when and where this will happen > but we will eventually know it in our bones; we will all bear the > news together. Oh yippee? What about all the Plutonium dust that is in the atmosphere as a result of nuclear bomb testing? Also, the casing for the Plutonium is supposed to be "crash proof". That is it can with stand the duress of re-entry much like a "black box" on an airplane can with stand a crash. Pleas a little less hysteria. Steve _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%