]]]]]]]]]]]]]]      HOW TOXIC IS SEN. SCRANTON?       [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[ 
                                                             (8/30/88)
     I have chosen Scranton as the typical brainwasher who promoted 
California's prohibition of ANY carcinogens in drinking water, but 
this will really be about anyone's body.
     You must by now be bored by my saying that Ralph Nader is 
radioactive, so let's look at what toxic metals and other trace 
elements the human is composed of. The table below has been drawn up 
for the International Committee of Radiation Protection's "Reference 
Man," a typical human being who weighs 70 kg (154 lbs). It is taken 
from R.M. Parr, "Trace Elements in human milk," IAEA Bulletin, vol. 
25, No. 2. As for radioactivity, the radium content of reference man 
amounts to 31 picocuries, or three times as much as is allowed in the 
discharges of cooling water by nuclear plants, and six times as much 
as is allowed in drinking water.
     As for other elements, here is the table:

ELEMENT   AMOUNT (g)     % OF TOTAL BODY WEIGHT
oxygen     43,000       61
carbon     16,000       23
hydrogen    7,000       10
nitrogen    1,800        2.6                                     
calcium     1,000        1.4
phosphorus    780        1.1
sulfur        140        0.2
potassium     140        0.2
sodium        100        0.14
chlorine       95        0.12
magnesium      19        0.027
silicon        18        0.026
iron           4.2       0.006
fluorine       2.6       0.0037
zinc           2.3       0.0033
rubidium       0.32      0.00046
strontium      0.32      0.00046
bromine        20        0.00029
lead           0.12      0.00017
copper         0.072     0.00010
aluminum       0.061     0.00009
cadmium        0.050     0.00007
boron         <0.048     0.00007
barium         0.022     0.00003
tin           <0.017     0.00002
manganese      0.012     0.00002
iodine         0.013     0.00002
gold          <0.010     0.00001
molybdenum    <0.0093    0.00001
chromium      <0.0018    0.000003
cesium         0.0015    0.000002
cobalt         0.0015    0.000002
uranium        0.0009    0.0000001
beryllium      0.00036   0.00000

     A number of other elements, INCLUDING ASRSENIC, are not contained 
in the table because the ICRP has not inserted them for "Reference 
Man;" yet they are present in all human bodies, in particular, arsenic 
is present in all mother's milk. 
     Some of the elements listed above are potent poisons when 
ingested in quantity; yet in small amounts they are not only not 
dangerous, but some of them are essential and lead to illnesses if 
deficient: lack of iron can cause anemia, lack of iodine goiters, lack 
of zinc skin lesions, selenium a certain type of heart disease, etc.

                  DOSIS VENENUM FECIT
          (It is the dose that makes the poison)

                    *     *     *

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