--- asimovd@aol.com wrote:
And I'm against "demonizing" plutonium or anything else, yet it is a very dangerous substance ...
But not as dangeros as botulin toxin, which is much likely to be encountered, say from spoiled food.
Without "demonizing" anything, I am realistically concerned that some rogue individuals or groups would gladly accumulate dangerous materials and use them to harm innocent people. And even non-rogue individuals are susceptible to bribes, threats, and simple mistakes.
--Dan
But these threats are from nuclear materials in countries other than the United States, so they cannot be mitigated by our avoidance of nuclear energy. In response to proliferation threats, the Energy Department is proposing reactor systems in which the fuel is reprocessed on-site. Non-weapons grade uranium enters the facility. Fission products leave the facility. Transuranics remain at the facility, and are consumed in the reactor. ( http://energy.inel.gov/gen-iv/ ) Gene __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo. http://search.yahoo.com