]]]]]]]]]]]]]] 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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