More on radiation
We should stop running away from radiation
Professor (retired) Wade Allison, who is a nuclear and medical physicist at the University of Oxford, points out some more real figures about radiation and nuclear 'disasters'. For instance, the number of dead from Three Mile Island: none. Number of dead from Chernobyl: 28 among the emergency workers, 15 cases of fatal child thyroid cancer (which would have been averted if iodine tablets had been available). Number of dead from the chemical leak at Union Carbide in 1984: 3800.
Chernobyl was the worst because a badly designed system released all it's radioactive iodine and caesium in the initial explosion. Even at the time none of the reactors in the west were that badly designed, and certainly all of the current ones are a lot safer (the recent ones far safer than the Fukushima ones, which were nearing their end of life).
Oh, and that report that the Fukushima reactor had radiation "10 million times normal" (whatever that means)? It was out by a factor of 100 (i.e. 100 times larger than the real value). Some of the media have actually reported the error, but mostly in much smaller headlines than the original...
Oh, read the article. And his book, written two years ago (note: that link works for me, and directs to being able to read the first few pages of the book, please let me know if it doesn't work for others).
[ETA 2011-03-28T14:25:30]
The Register has another article about the non-story and how the scaremongers are trying to find anything at all to justify it. Like radiation being detected "all round the world", yes there has been time now for winds to carry minute amounts most of the way round the world, and yes there are instruments sensitive enough to detect the minute percentage increase from the normal level, but it's not exactly going to do anyone any harm.
Professor (retired) Wade Allison, who is a nuclear and medical physicist at the University of Oxford, points out some more real figures about radiation and nuclear 'disasters'. For instance, the number of dead from Three Mile Island: none. Number of dead from Chernobyl: 28 among the emergency workers, 15 cases of fatal child thyroid cancer (which would have been averted if iodine tablets had been available). Number of dead from the chemical leak at Union Carbide in 1984: 3800.
Chernobyl was the worst because a badly designed system released all it's radioactive iodine and caesium in the initial explosion. Even at the time none of the reactors in the west were that badly designed, and certainly all of the current ones are a lot safer (the recent ones far safer than the Fukushima ones, which were nearing their end of life).
Oh, and that report that the Fukushima reactor had radiation "10 million times normal" (whatever that means)? It was out by a factor of 100 (i.e. 100 times larger than the real value). Some of the media have actually reported the error, but mostly in much smaller headlines than the original...
Oh, read the article. And his book, written two years ago (note: that link works for me, and directs to being able to read the first few pages of the book, please let me know if it doesn't work for others).
[ETA 2011-03-28T14:25:30]
The Register has another article about the non-story and how the scaremongers are trying to find anything at all to justify it. Like radiation being detected "all round the world", yes there has been time now for winds to carry minute amounts most of the way round the world, and yes there are instruments sensitive enough to detect the minute percentage increase from the normal level, but it's not exactly going to do anyone any harm.