Date: Thu, 3 Apr 1997 07:52:58 -0800 (PST)
From: Gene Thompson <gthompso@ccsf.cc.ca.us>
To: pinhole@exploratorium.edu
Subject: the Cassini probe to Saturn
Message-Id: <Pine.HPP.3.95.970403074434.8878B-100000@hills.ccsf.cc.ca.us>
Project Censored just released the 10 Top Censored Stories list and #1 on
the list was something I want to know more about and, if it's all they
report it to be, the science community and the science education community
should be shouting about. In October NASA will launch the Cassini probe
which will be carrying 72.3 pounds of plutonium-238 as fuel. It will be
launched by a Lockheed Martin-built Titan IV rocket (which has a history
of problems, including blowing up). Dr. Helen Caldicott has said that
less than 1/1,000,000 of a gram is a carcinogenic dose. So 1 pound of
plutonium-238, uniformly distributed, would be enough to give every human
on earth lung cancer. But the Cassini probe will be carrying 72.3 pounds.
Is this an accurate statement of the facts in the case? If so, how did
this project get so far along? And what needs to be done to stop it from
proceeding as currently planned?
Ellen Koivisto
George Washington High School
SF, CA
gthompso@ccsf.cc.ca.us