While researching I realized that there’s something
particularly beautiful about the way people who know radiation and radiation
events discuss those events. In the past I’ve spoken a lot about how the
nuclear media needs a serious facelift and nothing shows that more than the
exasperation of the opinionated sources. Take the quote below,
“There seems to be a group of people convinced
that we’re all about to drop dead from radiation exposure, that there is some
vast disaster unfolding. I’m not sure why people want to believe this for it’s
most certainly untrue.”
This
author writes for forbes and is just so tired of telling people they’re wrong.
And it’s hilarious. The truth is that rad workers are getting tired of having
to explain that they’re not going to die. Most people are reasonable and can be
made to see the light once you start having an actual conversation. It’s not
always so easy though.
I
had a friend who once told me her friend in Japan developed cancer in the
months following Fukushima so Fukushima must be to blame. Her friend lived on
the other side of the country. After further discussion about Fukushima and the
effect on Japan, I told her that radiation-induced solid tumors usually take
10–15 years to develop and radiation-induced leukemias typically require
2–10 years to appear. It honestly took showing her sources to
convince her.
Part
of the problem is that we’ve been told so many lies that the truth doesn’t seem
possible. It’s like when you tell people that the Great Wall of China isn’t
actually visible from space. They at first will resist because they’ve heard it
is so many times! If you’re unwilling to believe me as well, check Google maps!
Zoom out to a full view of China and try to find it!
That’s
what people in the nuclear field deal with on a regular basis. When I first
told my mom I was going to be doing research, she was so scared for me! She
asked me if I was going to get cancer. My reply was that as long as I could resist
swallowing the sources (I said sarcastically), I was more at risk of dropping
something and breaking my foot than getting cancer. That was two years ago.
I
work in the nuclear industry because I know how much security there is built in
to every aspect in what I do. I work in the nuclear industry because I believe
in the nuclear industry and
I’m willing to spend the rest of my life defending it but should I have to? I think the industry has a very long way to go on being more understanding of the general public, of educating rather than belittling the public. However, studies show that the more the industry says that nuclear is safe, the less people believe it. The question now is, how to approach an issue that seems to have no solution?
I feel the same way. I think the way people resort to believing everything they hear (from other misinformed people) is just what the most of the american population has become. As discussed in class Monday, look at how all these companies try to soon feed us all the bull so we buy their products. Its crazy how gullible humans are. There definitely needs to be a change in mentality, maybe even strategy to introduce real data to show people what nuclear is really about, to show them, really, what being informed really is.
ReplyDeleteYes this is a very truthful account of how many people experience nuclear industry in the world. Those people on the inside can definitely feel the frustration of being second-guessed and bothered often. I know at points you wish that there was a method in which to just copy and paste all these facts you know into someone else's mind and assure them that their irrational fears won't occur. Copy and paste is a good way since then you could distribute it well to all those people that ask the same question as well. But... there isn't. At least not currently. Those methods are way to forceful anyway, we can't drag them to the light and force them to a conclusion, forcefully turning on their "lightbulbs". If you've ever tried learning anything from someone with attitude and who was tired of teaching, you know it to be distancing and discouraging endeavor. That is not what any businessman should do who wants to have a successful business and encourage investments. That's not what any nuclear in the field should do that wants the industry to be accepted into society. Just keep fighting the irrationality with patience.
ReplyDelete@radioactivetruth, I think these blogs are a good way to demonstrate our knowledge in an informed manner. Since the blogs became lecture based it kind of lost its creative spark, but hopefully people will continue after the class to further inform the public.
ReplyDeleteI agree Nukestudentlife! Keeping this blog has definitely been a positive experience in presenting complex information for the general public! I showed it to my family for the first time over the break and my sister was so amazed with all the things she never knew about radiation.
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