On Thu, Feb 22, 2007 at 07:38:23AM -0700, Daniel C. wrote: > On 2/21/07, Ryan Byrd <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >Cougars might be slightly more radioactive than Wolverines. Here's why: > >there used to be a nuclear reactor on BYU campus and I was told that some > >buildings still have higher than average background radiation. Rumor has > >that the walls in the Widtsoe Building in particular make a Geiger counter > >go crazy. > > Okay, question. I have always been under the impression that being > exposed to radiation does not make you radioactive, just like being > exposed to light doesn't make you glow. Is this true?
Well, you're already radioactive. But being exposed to enough radiation can increase your own radiation. That's in addition to the other damage that radiation can cause. For most people, most of the time, it isn't an issue. If the old BYU reactor was properly run and cleaned up, it shouldn't be an issue. I've never heard of anyone refusing to play squash at the University of Chicago. I had a friend who worked as a safety instructor at a nuclear powered generator. He says that their standards are so strict that if you bring a yellow ceramic plate on site, you can't bring it off again. Reason: the yellow glaze is made with uranium, and it is radioactive enough to hit the NRC standards. People have been using uranium glazes for thousands of years. I have yet to hear of anyone claiming that their yellow dinner set has caused cancer or the like. If you want to research the issue, try reading up on Wikipedia. -- Charles Curley /"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign Looking for fine software \ / Respect for open standards and/or writing? X No HTML/RTF in email http://www.charlescurley.com / \ No M$ Word docs in email Key fingerprint = CE5C 6645 A45A 64E4 94C0 809C FFF6 4C48 4ECD DFDB
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