Most poisons are chemicals which--if diluted by water or other harmless substances--also become ineffective or harmless. If radioactive isotones had the same qualities, decontamination of a fallout zone would be much easier--the material could simply be washed down and the major danger would be eliminated. Persons who accidentally ingested the material could drink quantities of water and literally wash the radioactivity out of their systems. Unfortunately this is usually not true with radioactive substances. mentioned earlier, are like As the electron structure of the atom of many kinds of isotopes "chemical hrothers" of other stable elements, or elements naturally found in our bodies. Our naturally-appearing elements like calcium, and potassium have their “counterfeit” counterparts like sro and e537, As pointed out by Dr. William F. Neuman in the United States Congressional hearings on "The Nature of Fallout and Its Effects on Man": (94 p. 710) "Just as a dispensing machine can be made to operate with a slug having a shane, weight, and properties similar to a genuine coin, so also can the hody be 'fooled' when presented with a chemical counterfeit. "Matural strontium is the chemical counterfeit of calcium, an alkaline earth which is reouired for the maintenance of health and well being like calcium about 99 percent of the strontium is found in the bone." Thus it is that these counterfeit chemicals which get into man's body locate themselves where their brothers are normally found. Calcium is an important component in our bones and thus strontium resides there. is found in our muscle tissue and so is cesium. Potassium Todine is important in the operation of the thyroid qland and so we find its radioactive brother there, How these elements get there lands on the ocean, Plankton, in turn, in turn, involves the food chain. it is taken up hy microscopic organisms, If the fallout like plankton. serves as food for small fish and other sea life which, are food for other, larger fish. Fventually, at the end of the chain, man catches a fish which has been contaminated as a result of the oriqinal fallout, eats, it, and hecomes contaminated himself. 19 eS 5010283 Tf the fallout too.