Posted on 10/29/2013 9:11:15 AM PDT by Twotone
I have watched a TV programme called ‘Fear Factor.’ In the series there are contestants who have to confront their worst fears to see who bails out and who can fight the fear and get through.
(Excerpt) Read more at cfact.org ...
External contamination and exposure are manageable occupational hazards. Time, distance, shielding, PPE, dosimetry. On the job we have all sorts of controls for safety.
The problem for the general public is internal contamination, primarily due to bioaccumulation of isotopes that are ingested (cesium, strontium) or inhaled (radioiodine, respirable dust). Particularly insidious are the alpha emitters, since those can be difficult to detect and from a radiation quality standpoint are about 20X worse than gamma photons. Much of what we accumulate in plant work or (especially) in NORM scenarios is alpha emmitting.
I am all for tight accounting for and segregation of radioactive waste. The point about the very slightly radioactive waster is valid, though I think it needs to be dumped out in very deep ocean, not near shore where it will bioaccumulate in seafood. The Japanese diet (small ‘d’) is VERY seafood-dependent. Its all about keeping those pesky Bequerels out of the human environment.
Funny how leftists keep insisting they are the bastion of freely available science and against the type of superstitions calling a gun evil.
Well blow me down! I would have thought it was the Japanese govt. that chose the location for the plant, not the company that built it.
And who woulda thought 45 years ago that a once in a millenium tsunami would come along and destroy it and that coastline.........
And while we're using your logic, how stupid were those multi-generational people in choosing to live on that coast anyway?
If you say so.....since I barely made it thru high school I'll have to take your word for it.
I would have to get someone who REALLY knows what he is talking about get all technical on me!
Just kidding. Thanks for the detailed, informative reply!
As you say, just be careful not to ingest alpha emitters and wash your outsides and that will take care of a lot of the problem.
Is the contaminated water mostly a problem with tritium? Decay releases beta radiation?
It is until it isn't. Then it's a real mess. The cost of failure is staggering. There's a major accident it seems like every 10 years. If you add up the total costs of nuclear it is far more expensive than coal and natural gas. It's in the cost range of wind power, which is why no nuclear plants are being built without a whole lot of government.
Post proof. I do not believe that.
Thank you for this report, it mirrors my own beliefs so far.
3 Mile Island was 24/7 with the Media as I recall. China Syndrome, the movie, came out shortly thereafter. Talk about Hype.
I look at Fukushima the same way I looked at the BP oil debacle. International help was needed & offered & rejected by our PINO until things got good and greasy. In Japan’s case, this mess will affect more than just the people who live in that area if some serious intervention doesn’t happen soon, IMHO.
Wind average estimate: $86.60/MWh
Advanced nuclear: $108.40/MWh
From: The real reason to fight nuclear power has nothing to do with health risks
Suggested conservative Cato org article (convinced me): Nuclear Energy: Risky Business
There were stone markers hundreds of years old giving warnings of the hazards of tsunami in that location, as well as others. They built inside of the warned area.
Sometimes, no matter how “stupid” or “primitive” you think something is, it’s just plain worth listening to regardless...
Are you referring to the Brio site?
Recognize this — based on current radiological specifications as imposed on the nuclear power industry, commercial airlines would be restricted to 12,000 feet.
Tritium is a weak beta emitter. I think the good news is that it isn’t something the body grabs onto and doesn’t let go, like iodine or strontium. I don’t know if that is the main problem with this water. I haven’t seen any radiochemistry reports. It’s all about the picocuries/ml and the isotope/dose equivalence.
Stimulating discussion. Thanks!
I’m sure there were Indians wondering what the French thought they were doing in building New Orleans, and the French wondered what the English were doing when they laid out the 9th ward.
Indian #1 “What are the white guys doing down there. Don’t they know that floods?”
Indian #2 “I don’t think they do.”
Indian #1 “You gonna tell them?”
Indian #2 “They’ll figure it out.”
This was so played up by the media that we had people here literally afraid of a cloud of radiation coming over and killing everyone. In the grand scheme of things the nuke part of it was a non-event.
“Never let a crisis go to waste.”
I have a friend who’s still worried that the ocean is contaminated, & those waters will contaminate US beaches as currents move around the ocean. I’ve tried to explain things, but she just can’t seem to understand.
Dr Kemm’s opinion is very similar to that of a retired LRL physicist for whom I’ve done work from time to time.
But interestingly enough he has an elaborate fallout shelter in his back yard. (I know, different hazard)
>> “ In the grand scheme of things the nuke part of it was a non-event.” <<
.
So far.
Except for the expenditure of copious quantities of money to manage it.
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