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. 
  
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