A guide to radiation for the clueless...

Generali

amcluesent wrote: »

Reykjavik is first European city to detect particles from Japan

From your article:

Meanwhile, officials in Iceland have detected ‘minuscule amounts’ of radioactive particles believed to have come from Fukushima, the site of the worst nuclear accident in 25 years.

tomterm8

There is a crowd sourcing radiation detection scheme going on in Japan. I don't have any reason to doubt their figures, and so far outside the immediate evacuation zone of the plant dangerous levels have not been detected... I don't really trust the diagram from the OP because my understanding is that it is more complicated than just dosage detected in the atmosphere. Once isotopes get into the food chain, you are in significantly more danger than if you are just exposed to the radiation.

As for nuclear power, as long as nuclear reactors are working properly there is no danger... from the power plant... but the fuel remains for a long time after the reaction. And the fuel is dangerous.

blueboy43

fimonkey wrote: »

Its a lost cause Generali! People don't seem to WANT to understand radiation, even some health professionals I've worked with (medical imaging professionals in particular) do not understand radiation and its measurement and its relation to risk.

For those who want to read the OP post again, here are a few FACTS to add to it.

Your life time risk of cancer is 1 in 3!
There is no definite known risk of cancer at doses less than 100mSv
At doses less than 10mSv it is impossibe to prove that any ill effect is from the radiation exposure rather than environmental factors.
Your average background dose in the UK is 2.5mSv (range 1.5 to 7.5mSv)
Airline crew receive up to 8mSv per year.

No where in the news are they mentioning doses and the risk, The only mention I heard was 400mSv directly on top of one of the plants in Fukishima, but the dose drops 4 fold for every metre away from the source (inverse square law).

I can back up my facts, If i had a choice of lifestyle factors I would live in Tokya and eat Japanese food than smoke 5 cigarrettes a day from age 20.

How many of those panicing about the radiation would subject themselves to a CT scan for a 'well being' check?

Thanks again Generali!

Agree with all of this, however it is not the radiation from the plant that is the problem, it is the dispersal of isotopes as a result of the various fires / explosions etc.

For reference, the level in Tokyo on 14th March was just under 1 microSv (normal is 0.035 microSV in Tokyo) per hour.

At Fukishima city (60km away from plant) it was 6microSV per hour.
Roughly the equivalent of having 10 chest X-rays a week if that level were maintained.


* can't do the mu symbol *

Generali

blueboy43 wrote: »

Agree with all of this, however it is not the radiation from the plant that is the problem, it is the dispersal of isotopes as a result of the various fires / explosions etc.

For reference, the level in Tokyo on 14th March was just under 1 microSv (normal is 0.035 microSV in Tokyo) per hour.

At Fukishima city (60km away from plant) it was 6microSV per hour.
Roughly the equivalent of having 10 chest X-rays a week if that level were maintained.

.......but if it's only like that for a day or so then it's the equivalent of 1 or 2 chest x-rays.

blueboy43

Generali wrote: »

.......but if it's only like that for a day or so then it's the equivalent of 1 or 2 chest x-rays.

Agreed - the level was 1770 microSV in Fukishima city over a week.

17 Xrays worth, but less than 1 CT scan.

But - you would only be exposed to this is you were outside 24 hours per day.

Being indoors with windows closed would reduce that significantly.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Generali wrote: »

Headlines About Japan's Nuclear Crisis Could Be Way Overblown

You are getting ahead of yourself Generali.

They have put power in to boil a kettle for tea.

Its a long way off safe.

Generali

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

You are getting ahead of yourself Generali.

They have put power in to boil a kettle for tea.

Its a long way off safe.

Did you read the article? It doesn't say things are tickety-boo, it says that a lot of the reporting of the problems is scaremongering clap-trap.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Generali wrote: »

Did you read the article? It doesn't say things are tickety-boo, it says that a lot of the reporting of the problems is scaremongering clap-trap.

Was scaremongering. Now its being hushed.

They are in trouble.

Generali

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

Was scaremongering. Now its being hushed.

They are in trouble.

Time will tell. Freaking people out for no good reason certainly won't help anything.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Generali wrote: »

Time will tell. Freaking people out for no good reason certainly won't help anything.

Within the next couple of days