adf0a2b7   
   XPost: alt.folklore.urban   
   From: porkchop_d_clown@NOSPAM.mac.com   
      
   In article <89ec59b9.0407122137.b247796@posting.google.com>,   
    maya_egg@hotmail.com (Harlan Osier) wrote:   
      
   > I heard that this is just an urban legend and Plutonium is not THAT toxic.   
   >   
   > Is that true or will you instantly die after touching Plutonium?   
      
   I'm surprised that no one else has mentioned this but, ignoring the   
   radioactivity (for the moment) plutonium is still a heavy metal and like   
   lead and other heavy metals does have toxic effects. Like other heavy   
   metals, it tends to be absorbed by the body and stay there causing long   
   term problems.   
      
   Of course, plutonium *is* radioactive which adds a lot to the effect -   
   but you still have to ingest it. Depending on how it was absorbed by the   
   body, it might get lodged in the lungs causing lung cancers or it might   
   migrate to the bone marrow and cause bone and blood cancers.   
      
   But, remember, cancers take many years to form so while a miniscule dose   
   might kill you in 10 or 15 years, a similarly small amount of botulism   
   toxin will kill you a lot faster.   
      
   In addition, there are many radioactive substances that are much more   
   radioactive than plutonium - radium, for instance.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)