Life on Mars
Aircraft dials used to be painted with a phosphorescent compound mixed with radium which made them glow in the dark. At the end of the Second World War, a number of planes were dismantled at the old Donibristle airfield on the River Forth. Some equipment, including the dials, was incinerated, mixed with runway rubble and building material, and used to reclaim the coastline where Dalgety Bay was later built.
Traces of radioactivity were discovered in 1990 by a monitoring team from Rosyth and, though observable with sensitive devices, the danger to humans is absolutely negligible.
There are amoebae on Mars with a greater knowledge of physics than Gordon Brown and he should return to his self- imposed purdah and not ramp up silly scare stories (“Brown wants action on ‘bay hazard’”, 1 December).
(Dr) John Cameron
Howard Place
St Andrews
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Comments
There are 7 comments to this article
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THX1138
Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 10:44 AM#6 "so high that scientists are refusing to handle it" Well, as a professional scientist who has worked with radioactive elements, I would be interested to know the facts behind that claim, as there is no conceiveable amount of Ra-226 on those beaches that cannot be handled safely. It is an alpha emitter, so unless you actually eat the stuff or breathe it in, it is relatively easily dealt with - if there has been any refusal, it's probably related to the rules around how the incident is handled. As for your other claim, lots of families have multiple cases of rare cancers either by chance, from genetic factors or from the family environment (smoking being an obvious one) - you can't just pick something that scares you and point to that as the cause.
Towanda
Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 09:23 AMMay I suggest that you check into the facts a little more deeply, the aircraft instrument panels wer painted with a compound that contained far more Radium 226, this was thought to be an aid to night flying, the panels were burned and the ash was dumped along the foreshore and more importantly recent finds show radioactivity far in excess of that found over 20 years ago, so high in fact that scientists are refusing to handle it. Three members of my family who played on the beach and the surrounding area as children have developed rare cancers and two have died, I am very keen to hear from other families who may have similar experiences.
Tartancult
Friday, December 2, 2011 at 10:18 PMSo, it is NOT radiation which is responsible for the appearance of people from that area, which means we are back to genetics.
THX1138
Friday, December 2, 2011 at 10:23 AM#3 - points well made, and to which I would add that it's not about who delivers the message, it's about the facts of the situation. If the facts are that the radiological hazard is negligible (i.e. comparable with additional doses that we receive from flying, x-rays, etc.) then this is a complete non-story.
dundeewhaler
Friday, December 2, 2011 at 10:01 AMI believe Dr Cameron was originally a professional physicist and that radiation was one of his specialties. I suspect the people of Dalgety Bay would rather hear what he has to say about the supposed dangers of this radiation than an ex-historian and reject politician looking for a bit of publicity.
cajwbroomhill
Friday, December 2, 2011 at 09:25 AMSEPA have evidently stated that the radioactivity in question is non threat to health, and trivial, so the public deserve an authoritative statement on this question before any political or pressure group wrangling can mislead us.
StuartAD
Friday, December 2, 2011 at 07:34 AMDoctor, it depends where you are from, St. Andrews or Dalgety Bay. Gordon Brown who represents all the people whether they voted for him or not, has more right than most to speak up for those who are not as smart as you in realising that you have seen life on Mars. Being a Minister in the Church of Scotland, gives you insight others do not have, please be a little patient with us who are trying to understand simple science. Have you actually measured the amount of radioactivity on the foreshore? Do you not believe that this was the same reason that the American clock factory closed in Dundee?
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