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Dear Fredd,

don’t panic. There are three things that affectively dilute radioactive pollution such as this ‘plume’ — those are time, distance, and shielding.

Time and distance: the longer the ‘plume’ is out there flowing through the atmosphere the more it is thinned. Much of it will be indistinguishable from background (cosmic) radiation by the time it reaches the west coast and much of the radioactive particles will have fallen onto the ocean’s surface.

Distance is another aspect of this phenomenon. It is difficult for radiation itself to travel 5,000 miles.

In case you don’t know the terms, I will help you. To use an analogy: radioactive material is like dog poop and radiation would be like the stink of dog poop.

For example, Uranium 239 is an unstable element and is always trying to throw off one of its electrons; it is radioactive because it emits a particle of its atomic structure. That electron is the radiation that Uranium 239 produces as it becomes a ‘stable’ element (with an equal number of electrons). Radiation poisoning occurs by that atomic particle splitting a water molecule in our bodies, producing chemicals poisonous internally to us.

Now, as I’ve already discussed the effect time and distance has on radioactive materials and radiation, it is fairly obvious you have little to nothing to worry about per Japan. But I think you’re smart or you wouldn’t be on Free Republic so I’ll tell you what you should worry about.

I believe you’re wise to have those pills, if not for you but for your children. They’re the most vulnerable to breathing in or ingesting radioactive particles during a terrorist attack involving a dirty bomb. That is my biggest fear right now — I know the American public isn’t prepared for such an attack.

Adults only need a mask and goggles to keep out such particle. But children need more because their lungs and other organs are still growing. They need the iodine to protect their bodies.

Do you see where I’m coming from on this?

I worked in a nuclear plant for nearly eight years and my father’s been a licensed nuclear engineer since the early 1960s. You actually have little to be concerned about in the way of contamination from Japan.