This post is in honor of the men and women that served on
the USS Ronald Reagan in 2011 when Fukushima occurred. These men risked their
lives and they’ve experienced the effects of large atmospheric releases first
hand.
I figure we’ve all heard about Fukushima and the general
events that happened there. What I’m specifically talking about is the
atmospheric releases from the event.
First I’d like to start by sharing the image below with you.
I don’t know if you have all seen it but I personally seen it 100 times (not really I’m exaggerating) in connection with radiation released from Fukushima-Daiichi. I’m going to teach you a quick trick for checking how much images actually have to do with radiation, check the scale. The scale for this graph is in centimeters. What do centimeters have to do with radiation release? In this case, absolutely nothing! Especially because this is a map of how wave height was affected by the Tsunami.
This image is a much more accurate representation of the plume, or radiation cloud, that left Fukushima after their nuclear accident. And before you go getting scared on me, the radiation levels “reaching” the US are below 0.01 Bq/m^3. If you remember our conversation about Radon, anything below 4 pCi/L is totally fine. 4pCi/L translates to about 150 Bq/m^3 (which when you compare it with the dose from Fukushima makes the Fukushima dose basically insignificant). So basically you should still be more worried about what’s already in your home.
However, the crew of the USS Ronald Reagan was called in to assist Japan after the tsunami. Unfortunately, they got fully caught up in the plume coming from Fukushima. Radiation dust was being deposited on the decks, it was in their water supply. Most of the crew got some for of radiation poisoning, which meant a lot of puking and generally being ill. It also means that their future cancer risk is way high.
TL;DR : The men and women on the USS Ronald Reagan are heroes. Radiation from Fukushima isn’t going to kill you or cause your pets to mutate even if you live in California. You can also look at this site for more information. You should probably still consider a radon test (they’re only like $10 anyway).
Whats more unfortunate is that the men and women on the aircraft carrier probably had no idea of the consequences, and if they did they had no choice but to follow orders. As with any nuclear accident, the closest to the area it occurred the more exposure to the resulting radionuclides. Thousandths of people lost their homes in the surrounding area, not only from the nuclear accident but mostly due to the Tsunami.
ReplyDeleteThere have actually been a couple of articles that talk about how the most deadly consequence of Fukushima was not the radiation but the evacuation of the surrounding area. People died from "stress and other illnesses related to the disaster" such as medical centers being down.
Deletehttp://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/post-tsunami-deaths-due-to-stress-illness-outnumber-disaster-toll-in-fukushima
This incident was indeed horrible for everyone who was called in to assist Japan after the tsunami. Chances are that most of them did not know of the consequences. I agree with you Nuclear Nancy, these people are heroes and they were very brave. As well as the people that suffered from the tsunami.
ReplyDeleteThis post was very helpful in comparing the risk from the results of the Fukushima incident and general risk from Radon in our homes. I had never seen actual numerical comparisons of the activities from these sources of radiation exposure - thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad! That's why I included it! I think one of the big things about the representation of the nuclear industry is that the media rarely tells you how much any nuclear thing is compared to another. That's where the idea of the "banana equivalent dose" came from!
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose
I also looked into the atmospheric dispersion of Fukushima. Great first picture! I haven't seen that one yet
ReplyDeleteHaha agreed! The fearmongering and spreading of stuff like that is way too common. By that measure, Chile must've had a huge reactor meltdown in 2010: http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/chile20100227/fmaxamp.png
DeleteThat's so true that those men and women on the Ronald Reagan probably didn't know the risks, but really did they have a choice not to go even if they did have a choice? But honestly, I bet even if those men and women knew the risks they wouldn't have put up a fight to go in there and help. They are true heroes. I also liked how you compared the dose back to the discussion on radon since that is something that actually effects the everyday person.
ReplyDelete