Jimbo
Plumber
Anyone following the media hysteria/hyperbole on reporting about the radiation issue in Japan??
I have been quite critical...because reports that say " 10,000 times greater than such and such" are meaningless, because we don't know what is "such and such"
Finally today, AP issues a report with numbers, but it raises more questions than it answers:
airborne radiation in Unit 2 measured 1,000 millisieverts per hour, four times the limit deemed safe by the government.
First, it is confusing to talk about airborne radiaotion in sieverts, because it really is measure in curies, or becquerels. But if there is 1000 millisieverts exposure, that is WAY more than any "limit deemed safe". 250 millisieverts is the CASUALTY DOSE, authorized for a radiation worker in a lifesaving situation. 100 millisieverts is the dose above which there is measurable increase in cancers. Just 2000 millisieverts exposure can be expected to cause severe radiation poisoning, with some fatalities. 4 sieverts is LD %. 8 sieverts is fatal to 100% of humans exposed. The workers on the ground at Chernobel received 50 sieverts in 10 minutes, and their bodies will continue to glow for 10000 years!!!!
The media is clueless and uninformed, and if a level of danger is experienced on this side of the pond, they will be unable to accurately assess it and inform us.
I have been quite critical...because reports that say " 10,000 times greater than such and such" are meaningless, because we don't know what is "such and such"
Finally today, AP issues a report with numbers, but it raises more questions than it answers:
airborne radiation in Unit 2 measured 1,000 millisieverts per hour, four times the limit deemed safe by the government.
First, it is confusing to talk about airborne radiaotion in sieverts, because it really is measure in curies, or becquerels. But if there is 1000 millisieverts exposure, that is WAY more than any "limit deemed safe". 250 millisieverts is the CASUALTY DOSE, authorized for a radiation worker in a lifesaving situation. 100 millisieverts is the dose above which there is measurable increase in cancers. Just 2000 millisieverts exposure can be expected to cause severe radiation poisoning, with some fatalities. 4 sieverts is LD %. 8 sieverts is fatal to 100% of humans exposed. The workers on the ground at Chernobel received 50 sieverts in 10 minutes, and their bodies will continue to glow for 10000 years!!!!
The media is clueless and uninformed, and if a level of danger is experienced on this side of the pond, they will be unable to accurately assess it and inform us.