Comments on the "Reply to 'Comment on "Piezonuclear decay of thorium" [Phys. Lett. A 373 (2009) 1956]' [Phys. Lett. A (2009, in press]" [Phys. Lett. A (2009), in press] by F. Cardone et. al

In a recent article F. Cardone et al. [Phys. Lett. A 373 (2009) 1956] have claimed that subjecting a solution of 228Th to cavitation leads to a "transformation" of the thorium nuclei that is 104 times faster than the normal nuclear decay for this isotope. We have criticized the evidence provided for this claim in a "Comment" [Phys. Lett. A (2009), in press, DOI 10.1016/j.physleta.2009.08.045]. In their "Reply" [Phys. Lett. A (2009), in press, DOI 10.1016/j.physleta.2009.08.047] Cardone et al. answer only some minor points but avoid addressing the real issue. They even state a new extraordinary claim, namely that the thorium "transformations" occur without emission of gamma rays. In addition, the information provided in their Reply displays a worrying lack of control of their experimental situation and the data they put forward as evidence for their claims. We point out several shortcomings and errors in the described experimental preparations, set-up and reporting, as well as in the data analysis. We conclude that the evidence presented by Cardone et al. is insufficient to justify their claims and that the shortcomings of their work are so severe that the original paper and the Reply should be withdrawn.