{"id":16794,"date":"2026-04-27T18:21:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T18:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/?p=16794"},"modified":"2026-04-27T18:21:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T18:21:44","slug":"it-had-an-effect-immediately-%f0%9f%98%ae","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/?p=16794","title":{"rendered":"It had an effect immediately \ud83d\ude2e"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A widely shared video shows a nuclear chemist eating a radioactive substance, trying to prove that long-held fears about radiation may be overblown.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Galen Winsor, a nuclear chemist born in 1926, spent years working at the Hanford nuclear site in Washington \u2013 the site of the Manhattan Project during World War II \u2013 where plutonium production played a key role in the early atomic program.<\/p>\n

That hands-on experience with radioactive materials shaped views that later put him at odds with mainstream science, and over time, he became increasingly vocal, arguing that public fear around\u00a0radiation\u00a0<\/a>had been exaggerated and that regulations had gone too far.<\/p>\n

Swam in spent nuclear fuel<\/h2>\n

During speaking tours in the 1980s, Winsor pointed to what he described as firsthand exposure to support his views.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWinsor swam in the pool where spent [nuclear] fuel rods were kept and the water was heated to 38\u00b0C. He further claimed to have drunk a glass of water from the pool every day without ill effects,\u201d according to\u00a0Physics 8: Quantum, Nuclear and Particle Physics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy contrast, since the 1980s, former workers have been attempting to gain compensation for symptoms caused by alleged exposure to radiation due to lax safety measures at the plant,\u201d the booklet explained.<\/p>\n

\u2018Unless you\u2019ve been burned\u2019<\/h2>\n

He also challenged major\u00a0nuclear<\/a>\u00a0incidents. While speaking publicly, he suggested that the 1979 crisis at Pennsylvania\u2019s Three Mile Island had been exaggerated, despite historical reporting.<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0PBS<\/a>, a senior engineer said there was \u201ca meltdown at Three Mile Island,\u201d which released radioactive gas over several days.<\/p>\n

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\u201cUnless you\u2019ve been burned, you haven\u2019t got a problem,\u201d Winsor said in a 1985 interview with The Herald.<\/p>\n

Eats uranium<\/h2>\n

The moment most closely associated with Winsor unfolds during a lecture, where he set out to prove his point in a way that left no room for doubt.<\/p>\n

Standing in front of an audience, the chemist lifted a small container he claimed held uranium oxide and brought a Geiger counter \u2013 used to measure radioactivity \u2013 close enough for everyone to hear it react. The steady clicking filled the room, confirming the presence of radiation, but instead of backing away, he leaned into it.<\/p>\n

Without breaking his rhythm, he tipped a small amount into his\u00a0palm<\/a>, paused just long enough for the sound of the detector to register, and then, in a move that still catches viewers off guard, placed the substance in his mouth and swallowed.<\/p>\n

He then licked the leftovers from his hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019ve just done makes me high-level nuclear waste,\u201d he said, according to the Herald. \u201cAccording to federal regulations, they will have to bury me 3,000 feet in Carlsbad, N.M.\u201d<\/p>\n