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Sources of information in radiological protection

M.J. Gaines (National Radiological Protection Board, Harwell)

Aslib Proceedings

ISSN: 0001-253X

Article publication date: 1 May 1980

46

Abstract

In the current issue of the Guinness Book of Records there is a table categorizing chemical elements by their unique property—osmium as the most dense, hydrogen as the lightest, gold as the most ductile, tungsten having the highest melting point, etc. Plutonium is listed as the most poisonous and toxicity is therefore treated as an established fact, like density or ductility. But in this comparative use ‘poisonous’ needs defining to be meaningful. It may be necessary to identify a biological end‐point and specify whether the poison is acute or chronic, whether the intake is by inhalation or ingestion and, for radioactive materials, whether the comparison should be expressed in terms of mass or activity.

Citation

Gaines, M.J. (1980), "Sources of information in radiological protection", Aslib Proceedings, Vol. 32 No. 5, pp. 241-250. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb050740

Publisher

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MCB UP Ltd

Copyright © 1980, MCB UP Limited

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