This issue with external versus internal alpha particle Q weighting or time scale confusion would seem to be a huge issue in terms of the recent topic of contaminated milk, spinach, and other food products not yet tested by the Japanese.

I had not thought about it before, I have heard a number of times that after Chernobyl, the consumption of contaminated food was by far the largest source of radiation risk for the civillian population, not direct exposure to any airborne fallout. I had not realized that the internal versus external Q weighting, and not necessarily the number of particles involved, is the main driver of this greater risk for ingested particles. In other words, 150 alpha particles settling on my skin and clothes is not as dangerous as, say, 20 particles that I ingest in milk, is that correct?