It is irrational when you cannot appreciate the comparision to the radiation encountered in everyday life to the radiation emitted by a nuclear power plant. Apparently many still get the nuclear shiver when they make no effort to educate themselves about the construction of a nuclear power plant or the operation We are talking 3 reactors and even more containment pools that are causing enough radiation worries to cause the workers to run away at times due to enough radiation to kill(from crying Japanese plant official).
When does the common sense come in to play from the cheerleaders and the sky is falling crowd.
There is not enough information yet for either side and that is on purpose. BUT...if you are not smart enough to see world leaders out of the box panic(at times) or see the desperate measures and the pulling away of all workers at times or plant leader crying and admitting the high radiation levels enough to kill...then the bs all is sunny and worry is for the stupid just looks as bizarre and even less realistic than the sky is falling crowd...at least they have things to point to even if not fully understood.
Until we are given a full accounting in a look back on the situation we will not know how horrible or totally under control this situation has really been. All we can do is watch what is being done and pulling workers back due to radiation means to the untrained eye all is not peachy.
The critical piece of information is missing from the crying CEO's statement - high enough to kill
at what distance?If you've toured a nuclear plant and seen comparatively fresh spent fuel in the pool, the eerie blue glow from the Cerenkov effect is a visual reminder of how much raw power is at work there:
Twelve feet of purified water above the tops of the rods is shielding the radiation, and the blue glow is a result of particles emitted by the spent fuel bundles traveling through the water faster than the speed of light, since the speed of light in water is only 3/4 that in vacuum.
Low levels of water in a spent fuel pool mean low levels of shielding from the radiation, and uncovered fuel rods will almost certainly result in enough radiation to kill anyone standing nearby. This does not, however, mean that the radiation is floating into the winds and out over the land - it'd be like a flashlight beam.
Now, if the zirconium cladding catches fire and starts to burn, this can result in the rupture of the cladding and release of gaseous and particulate fission products, which is a very serious situation. But there again, you need to know two things - level of radiation, and DISTANCE. They issued the evacuation order to put more DISTANCE between the people and the situation.
What was the evacuation radius around the Chiba refinery fire that finally burned itself out today, ten days after the quake, after dumping untold quantities of carcinogenic chemicals into the air? I haven't heard. Benzene and naptha don't make a very healthy dressing for your spinach salad.
Did you hear about the hydroelectric dam that collapsed during the quake and wiped out 1,800 homes and may have killed hundreds of people? I hadn't until just now.
How many people have died as a result of radiation from Fukushima? Zero, so far as we know, in spite of the extreme seriousness of the situation.
Context! Perspective!
There is quite a bit of information. Unfortunately the news media has done an extremely poor job of providing the background material needed to understand the situation. I've yet to see any news that did not have factual errors.
The steel and sheet metal “roof” structures that were damaged by the hydrogen explosions have been interpreted by many as the destruction of the containment. That's not true. It's also not true that any reactor has been exposed. The primary containment is a thick steel lined, heavily reinforced concrete structure that is designed to resist the impact of an airliner and the subsequent fire. If you have ever seen one, you would know how massive the construction is.
The other issue is the short attention span that makes it difficult to fully inform the public. Sound bites are not enough to explain the construction and operation details of a nuclear power plant.
There are quite a few Freepers that are quite knowledgeable. Many have spent time explaining some of the info needed to understand the situation in Japan. When all is considered, yes, the situation in Japan is serious, but it's not going to be the radioactive disaster many claim.
TMI proved many things especially the safety of nuclear power.