Run! Godzilla's  Coming

(Fear and loathing born of ignorance)

SEABORNE FUKUSHIMA RADIATION PLUME HIT WEST COAST, CORPORATE MEDIA REPORTED IT DANGEROUSLY

http://www.globalpossibilities.org/seaborne-fukushima-radiation-plume-hit-west-coast-corporate-media-reported-it-dangerously/

        The original article (the link) contains some first-rate fear mongering based on the assumed ignorance of the audience. Pandering to and causing unrealistic consternation among the uninformed certainly isn't new, but it is, nonetheless, definitely irresponsible. The isotope in question is Cs 134, which, like Rubidium and Iodine, is a fission product. Wow, sounds dangerous, huh. And if you ingested a significant amount, it would be. 

    The issue here is twofold. First, the relatively short (2 year ) half life of Cs 134 (which does decay by relatively high energy Beta particle emission) and the fact that its decay product, Barium 134, is stable, means that after about ten years (5 half lives, assumed to be threshold for "none left") , assuming no additional releases from Fukushima, there will be no more Cs 134. More important, however, is that the effort required to detect ANY Ba 134 has been hampered by the fact that levels have been so low that only the most sophisticated detection equipment can even measure it. Canadian studies found levels of Ba 134 of 1000 times less than the allowable standards for drinking water.

        The "journalist" speaking of material "throwing off " radiation is statistically correct. One event could damage DNA and cause a mutation in a cell. So, if that's your concern, here is some really scary shit: Consuming Salmon which had Cs 134 in their flesh in a detectable amount at the highest level anyone, fear mongers included, has even suggested might, if you ate a lot of it, cause whole body radiation exposure of at the most around .5 millirem (mr) annually. That's half of a millirem. Remember this when you read the rest of this. Usually we measure exposure with dosimeters, but none in existence would measure this miniscule amount (remember this is over a year). So what can you do to limit your exposure?

        For starters, don't breathe or eat anything, because your annual exposure from the radon in air and assorted radioactive materials on food totals around 240 mr. That's correct, 480 times as much as the Salmon's potential. If you smoke as little as half a pack per day (and if you do, you are terminally stupid) add another 18 mr annually from the radium in tobacco. Now here's the kicker: If you don't eat, smoke or drink and live at sea level, cosmic radiation still zaps you another 15 mr. Worse, if you love that Colorado Rocky Mountain high, consider that the dose rate from cosmic radiation in Denver is 75 mr, yep, 5 times as great as sea level due to the lesser amount of attenuation from the atmosphere. Or you could retreat to a Lamasery in Bhutan at 15,000 feet and really suck up the millirem.

         Of course, all this sounds scary, but the national guidelines for lifetime radiation exposure are based on the formula:  Allowable lifetime exposure (in REM, [ 1 R = 1000 mr, duh]) = 5(n-18) where n is your age, not to exceed 5 R annually. So, my 50 year old friends, you could already have absorbed 170 Rem and not have exceeded any recognized dosage limit. Of course, if you really want to bump it up get a spinal x-ray (600 mr) and live dangerously.

        In summary, the average American is calculated (by those who actually know and do the math) to receive an exposure from all sources of about 600 mr annually. Consider the possible maximum .5 mr annually (assuming your salmon sucked up a shit load of Cs134), and then ask yourself if it's really worth losing sleep over.  The preceding public service announcement has been brought to you by someone (me) with actual training and 26 years' experience in the field. Enjoy the rest of your day (if you can, Bwahaaahaahaa!)