what to do with residue...think tank...outside the box., page-5

                                  

Not entirely true.   Youare correct that alpha emissions cannot penetrate DEAD skin or Paper,plastic or most other things.     However they are highly destructive to any type of living tissues and cause fragmentation of DNA which often   leads to cancer.   So if you inhale it.  Swallow it. Get in a cut or expose it to a rash on babies butt you have severe problems. Not to mention other openings where living soft tissue is exposed.   So it is a true double edged sword.   It is very easy to control.   However if it becomes a dust or aerosol  or is handled where it can make contact with food.   Or handled improperly and is exposed to soft tissue  its effects are really horrible.  Even a little jammed under a finger nail could cause problems.    It also has a half-life of 14.05 billion years.   The long half life is why it is only an Alpha admitter.   It also means it will be around a very long time.    You may want to use this powder on your children or grandchildren but you would be condemning them to a long and painful death in 5 to 20 years.   It would not take much for your  powder to make contact with soft tissue. 

InNew England USA.    Many houses are built over Granit which emits Radon Gas also a low level  Alpha emitter.   Many people died of cancer for years before people figured out what was happening.   Now houses have to be tested and expensive venting installed below basement floor if radon is present.   It took the building of fairly air tight houses and multiple family members having cancer before people figured out what was going on.  Old leaky houses did not have as large of a  problem.