Re: SPACE: Cassini Mission Consequences

Henri Kluytmans (hkl@stack.nl)
Tue, 23 Sep 1997 20:13:53 +0000


>There seems to be a one in a million chance of a plutonium dispersal
>accident into the biosphere, which would be the direct cause of 100
>to 500 deaths during the next half century.

You say "deaths". Do you mean a 100 to 500 people will drop dead
instantly? ... NO !!! They will only die a little sooner.

The real comparison should be made using the costs in "years per
person". However not all years in a life are worth the same.
I guess, for most people, the last years of their life (as an
elderly person) are worth less than the years when in their prime
health. And damage by radioactive causes will most likely result in
cancer at an old age. This all makes the potential cost of the treat
even smaller.

(( And for people with vision, cancer (but not a brain tumor!!) will
be much less disastrous than a stroke, because you should still
be able to cryonically suspend your brain undamaged. Naturally,
this cannot be used as a hard argument to the general
(non-extropian) public. ;-<<< ))

-- 
>Hkl  
Because the future is where we will spend the rest of our lives ...
You see things and ask "Why?"  ;  I dream things and ask "Why not?"