Radiation from the Fukushima I plant
Fortunately the nuclear problems that the Japanese are having are not likely to have much impact on us, but I'm sure I'm not the only person who has been following developments with some concern. One of the big questions is: how much radiation has been emitted, and how much is "safe"?
There's an interesting comparison at http://xkcd.com/radiation/ which is well worth a look. The short answer: what's happened so far is well beyond daily limits, but not nearly enough to cause radiation sickness in most people.
And just for laughs, look just below the left-hand box:
While we all know people who dispute the validity of that statement, it is true in that context that there is no ionizing radiation. That puts it ahead of living within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant for one year (0.09 ?sV), eating a banana (0.1 ?sV) or living within 50 miles of a coal power plant for a year (0.3 ?sV).
It would be interesting to see a similar chart for electromagnetic radiation (radio waves).
Greg
There's an interesting comparison at http://xkcd.com/radiation/ which is well worth a look. The short answer: what's happened so far is well beyond daily limits, but not nearly enough to cause radiation sickness in most people.
And just for laughs, look just below the left-hand box:
Using a cell phone: 0 ?sV-a cell phone's transmitter does not produce ionizing radiation and does not cause cancer.
While we all know people who dispute the validity of that statement, it is true in that context that there is no ionizing radiation. That puts it ahead of living within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant for one year (0.09 ?sV), eating a banana (0.1 ?sV) or living within 50 miles of a coal power plant for a year (0.3 ?sV).
It would be interesting to see a similar chart for electromagnetic radiation (radio waves).
Greg
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