Radiation

[Grace]

Disease is more of a threat, I would think..like cholera and whatnot. All that water, sewage, bodies, etc.
But I sure admire their stoic attempts to keep control the best they can.

 

[westwall]

How long will it last for the people of Japan?

When will it be safe for them to get back to 'normal' if you can call it that.


My heart goes out to ALL of them, I know we all feel helpless not being able to do anything.

(But donate $$ of course, and say prayers for them)

Once things get calmed down life will return to normal fairly soon. One thing that people need to know about radiation is the longer the half life the less dangerous it is. Strontium 90 has a half life of 28.5 years or so so it is moderately dangerous if concentrated. The truly dangerous isotope is Iodine 123 which has a halflife of 13 hours. That isotope is radiating at a very, very high rate and will kill someone very quickly. The other real lethal isotope is Iodine 131 with a half life of around 8 days, that too is a real killer. Wait a few months so those isotopes can break down into their respective daughter elements and it becomes a whole lot safer.

So what will happen to the people that were exposed?



Do you think it will be safe for people to travel to Japan this summer?

People exposed to Iodine 123 or 131 are in real trouble if the exposure was for any length of time. The Gamma radiation is the real killer with radiation and that is what these two isotopes radiate in spades. The beta and alpha radiation can be cleaned off with soap and water so long as the actual particles are not ingested, that leads to real problems.

The Gamma radiation though, penetrates through everything and that is what kills the cells.

This summer I would not travel in the immediated vicinity of the reactors but so long as you were 50 miles or so away you would be fine provided you are not in the direction of the prevailing wind.

 

[Foxfyre]

Once things get calmed down life will return to normal fairly soon. One thing that people need to know about radiation is the longer the half life the less dangerous it is. Strontium 90 has a half life of 28.5 years or so so it is moderately dangerous if concentrated. The truly dangerous isotope is Iodine 123 which has a halflife of 13 hours. That isotope is radiating at a very, very high rate and will kill someone very quickly. The other real lethal isotope is Iodine 131 with a half life of around 8 days, that too is a real killer. Wait a few months so those isotopes can break down into their respective daughter elements and it becomes a whole lot safer.

So what will happen to the people that were exposed?



Do you think it will be safe for people to travel to Japan this summer?

People exposed to Iodine 123 or 131 are in real trouble if the exposure was for any length of time. The Gamma radiation is the real killer with radiation and that is what these two isotopes radiate in spades. The beta and alpha radiation can be cleaned off with soap and water so long as the actual particles are not ingested, that leads to real problems.

The Gamma radiation though, penetrates through everything and that is what kills the cells.

This summer I would not travel in the immediated vicinity of the reactors but so long as you were 50 miles or so away you would be fine provided you are not in the direction of the prevailing wind.

And so far the prevailing winds are carrying all the smoke containing anything radioactive away from populated areas and out to sea. That has been a small blessing in this.

But I agree with the others. I don't think the media should be ignoring the nuclear problem at all--it is what it is and it is newsworthy. But neither should they be so focused on 'worse case scenarios' instead of more objective reporting. And they're ALL guilty--Fox, CNN, MSNBC, and the other alphabet networks.

I would like to see a LOT more focus on the real life immediate needs--food, water, shelter, medicine, grief/trauma counseling or whatever--for a lot of people now trying to cope with and survive the devastation. That's what the world most needs to see so that it can respond appropriately.

 

[westwall]

Disease is more of a threat, I would think..like cholera and whatnot. All that water, sewage, bodies, etc.
But I sure admire their stoic attempts to keep control the best they can.

This is indeed the real problem that will soon rear its terrible head.

 

[westwall]

So what will happen to the people that were exposed?



Do you think it will be safe for people to travel to Japan this summer?

People exposed to Iodine 123 or 131 are in real trouble if the exposure was for any length of time. The Gamma radiation is the real killer with radiation and that is what these two isotopes radiate in spades. The beta and alpha radiation can be cleaned off with soap and water so long as the actual particles are not ingested, that leads to real problems.

The Gamma radiation though, penetrates through everything and that is what kills the cells.

This summer I would not travel in the immediated vicinity of the reactors but so long as you were 50 miles or so away you would be fine provided you are not in the direction of the prevailing wind.

And so far the prevailing winds are carrying all the smoke containing anything radioactive away from populated areas and out to sea. That has been a small blessing in this.

But I agree with the others. I don't think the media should be ignoring the nuclear problem at all--it is what it is and it is newsworthy. But neither should they be so focused on 'worse case scenarios' instead of more objective reporting. And they're ALL guilty--Fox, CNN, MSNBC, and the other alphabet networks.

I would like to see a LOT more focus on the real life immediate needs--food, water, shelter, medicine, grief/trauma counseling or whatever--for a lot of people now trying to cope with and survive the devastation. That's what the world most needs to see so that it can respond appropriately.

You've nailed it Foxy. I was watching Fox this morning and they were practically salivating at the thought of a major disaster, it made me sick.

 

[Flopper]

The scenes coming from Japan are indeed devastating and heart breaking and one might think the entire country is nothing but rubble and smoking nuclear reactor stacks. But the fact the people have homes to close themselves into suggests that it isn't total devastation there. I have been fascinated by clips of tall skyscrapers, built to be earthquake proof, swaying from side to side during the earthquake, but remaining intact. Human ingenuity and technology continues to make the world safer from its most violent elements.

And the remarkable thing to me is that after one of the world's strongest earthquakes followed by continuous strong after shocks, a horrible tsunami, and multiple violent explosions in the reactors, any leaked radiation has been relatively small requiring evacuation of a relatively small number of people. Much MUCH worse than Three Mile Island but nowhere near as bad as Chernobyl. With the world's nuclear experts descending on the scene, I am guessing they'll bring it under control and for the most part all will be in good shape related to that.

And the fact that it hasn't been worse, assuming they do get it under control, should reassure people everywhere that nuclear power, properly structured and contained, remains one of the safer sources of power used in the world.

Another thing that has struck me is the orderly and civil way the Japanese people are handling the disaster. People helping people with almost no reports of looting or lawlessness. They are truly an amazing people.

I think it is remarkable, a country with 500,000 homeless and such devastation and almost no reports of looting. Remember Hurricane Katrina and Andrew with widespread looting.

 

[Flopper]

I just heard a report that they are looking at putting acid into the the reactor. Anyone know what's this is all about?

I am afraid the ultimate solution will be to encase the reactors in concrete and sand providing they don't blowup first.

 

[Ravi]

The scenes coming from Japan are indeed devastating and heart breaking and one might think the entire country is nothing but rubble and smoking nuclear reactor stacks. But the fact the people have homes to close themselves into suggests that it isn't total devastation there. I have been fascinated by clips of tall skyscrapers, built to be earthquake proof, swaying from side to side during the earthquake, but remaining intact. Human ingenuity and technology continues to make the world safer from its most violent elements.

And the remarkable thing to me is that after one of the world's strongest earthquakes followed by continuous strong after shocks, a horrible tsunami, and multiple violent explosions in the reactors, any leaked radiation has been relatively small requiring evacuation of a relatively small number of people. Much MUCH worse than Three Mile Island but nowhere near as bad as Chernobyl. With the world's nuclear experts descending on the scene, I am guessing they'll bring it under control and for the most part all will be in good shape related to that.

And the fact that it hasn't been worse, assuming they do get it under control, should reassure people everywhere that nuclear power, properly structured and contained, remains one of the safer sources of power used in the world.

Another thing that has struck me is the orderly and civil way the Japanese people are handling the disaster. People helping people with almost no reports of looting or lawlessness. They are truly an amazing people.

I think it is remarkable, a country with 500,000 homeless and such devastation and almost no reports of looting. Remember Hurricane Katrina and Andrew with widespread looting.

There was no real widespread looting in either case...mostly it was REPORTED that there was...why is everyone wanting to slag Americans?

 

[Provocateur]

The scenes coming from Japan are indeed devastating and heart breaking and one might think the entire country is nothing but rubble and smoking nuclear reactor stacks. But the fact the people have homes to close themselves into suggests that it isn't total devastation there. I have been fascinated by clips of tall skyscrapers, built to be earthquake proof, swaying from side to side during the earthquake, but remaining intact. Human ingenuity and technology continues to make the world safer from its most violent elements.

And the remarkable thing to me is that after one of the world's strongest earthquakes followed by continuous strong after shocks, a horrible tsunami, and multiple violent explosions in the reactors, any leaked radiation has been relatively small requiring evacuation of a relatively small number of people. Much MUCH worse than Three Mile Island but nowhere near as bad as Chernobyl. With the world's nuclear experts descending on the scene, I am guessing they'll bring it under control and for the most part all will be in good shape related to that.

And the fact that it hasn't been worse, assuming they do get it under control, should reassure people everywhere that nuclear power, properly structured and contained, remains one of the safer sources of power used in the world.

Another thing that has struck me is the orderly and civil way the Japanese people are handling the disaster. People helping people with almost no reports of looting or lawlessness. They are truly an amazing people.

I think it is remarkable, a country with 500,000 homeless and such devastation and almost no reports of looting. Remember Hurricane Katrina and Andrew with widespread looting.

There was no real widespread looting in either case...mostly it was REPORTED that there was...why is everyone wanting to slag Americans?

Are you serious?

 

[Ravi]

Yes.

 

[Grace]

I just heard a report that they are looking at putting acid into the the reactor. Anyone know what's this is all about?

I am afraid the ultimate solution will be to encase the reactors in concrete and sand providing they don't blowup first.

I read an article about "refridgeration" smack dab in the middle of the desert by having a big pot or wall around the object that is to be cooled and jamming it with SAND. Then pour water into the sand. The sand sucks the heat out of the container holding the food. Keep the sand damp. Instant fridge. But with a reactor??? That's gonna take a heap of sand and a mighty big pot.

 

[Provocateur]

Yes.

Relief workers confront 'urban warfare' - CNN

There was a lot of discussion about the looting. Perhaps you were too young to have been watching the news at the time.

 

[Rat in the Hat]

I just heard a report that they are looking at putting acid into the the reactor. Anyone know what's this is all about?

I am afraid the ultimate solution will be to encase the reactors in concrete and sand providing they don't blowup first.

What they're putting in is Boric Acid. The boron soaks up the neutrons, slowing the fission reaction.

 

[random3434]

I think there are at least 3 threads, if not more, about USA vs. Japan looting......can ya all discuss that there please?


For those of you with the information on this, thank you, a lot of my questions got answered!

 

[Flopper]

I think it is remarkable, a country with 500,000 homeless and such devastation and almost no reports of looting. Remember Hurricane Katrina and Andrew with widespread looting.

There was no real widespread looting in either case...mostly it was REPORTED that there was...why is everyone wanting to slag Americans?

Are you serious?

You got to be kidding. You had people carrying arm loads of clothes and other goods out of stores on Canal street after Katrina. The Guard and local police detained hundreds.

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right, we all gonna die - get ready for the Rapture...

Expert: Nuclear Radiation Could Spread Far Beyond Japan
March 13, 2011 - An American nuclear expert says radiation from Japan could spread across the Pacific and reach the United States if a complete meltdown occurs at a Japanese nuclear facility damaged as a result of last week’s earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

Nuclear expert Joseph Cirincione of the Ploughshares Fund says Japan’s nuclear crisis is in a critical phase. "One of the [Japanese] reactors has had half the core exposed already. This is the one they are now flooding with seawater in a desperate effort to prevent a complete meltdown." Cirincione spoke on the Fox News Sunday television program. He said the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on Japan’s northeast coast is one of at least three nuclear facilities at risk.

Japan has evacuated civilians from areas surrounding the troubled plant, but Cirincione says radiation could spread far beyond Japan if efforts to contain the crisis fail. "The worst-case scenario is that the fuel rods fuse together - temperatures get so hot that [they] melt together into a radioactive molten mass that busts through the containment mechanisms. So they spew radioactivity into the ground, into the air, into the water. Some of that radioactivity could carry in the atmosphere to the west coast of the United States."

Japan’s ambassador in Washington, Ichiro Fujisaki, acknowledged potential dangers, but said no complete nuclear meltdown appears imminent. "It is true that part of [the] fuel rod may have been deformed or melting. But it is not a situation where [the] core reactor, the substantial part of [the] reactor, is melting down."

MORE

See also:

Official: Remaining Workers Evacuated From Stricken Nuclear Plant
Wednesday, March 16th, 2011 - Japanese officials have suspended operations aimed at preventing a stricken nuclear plant from melting down, after a surge in radiation made it too dangerous for workers to remain there.

The chief government spokesman, Yukio Edano, told reporters that radiation levels at the quake-stricken Fukushima plant spiked at mid-morning. He said the remaining workers at the plant were evacuated to a safe area, because of the risk posed by the increased radiation. Edano said levels have now receded somewhat, and that officials are monitoring them to determine when it would be safe to send the workers back into the plant.

Early Wednesday, what appeared to be white smoke was rising from one of the reactors at the plant, which was crippled by last week's devastating earthquake and resulting tsunami. Edano said officials were trying to determine the cause of the smoke, but that the most likely cause is steam escaping from a ruptured containment vessel in one of the reactors. Japan's government is trying to avert a major nuclear disaster from the crippled plant. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from a 20-kilometer area around the facility.

Authorities also are rushing doctors and emergency supplies to thousands of people who have been left without food, water and shelter following the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Japan's NHK television on Tuesday quoted government officials as saying that 3,000 are confirmed dead, but more than 10,000 are missing and feared dead. The scale of the triple disaster is enormous. U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokesperson Stephanie Bunker told VOA Tuesday she has not seen a disaster quite like this before.

Television pictures from hard-hit Sendai show people lined up for water and canned food, and some stores rationing food sales to 10 items per person. In other areas, the 100,000 personnel deployed by the government are attempting to rescue survivors stranded by the flood waters and mountains of debris. Rescue crews still are struggling through debris-blocked roads to get to hundreds of thousands of people whose towns and villages were leveled by Friday's earthquake and tsunami. The government says 15,000 people have been rescued and 450,000 have been evacuated nationwide.

Source

 

[westwall]

Here is some more recent info on the reactors. The last link is to a MIT page dealing with the reactors. There really is very little to be concerned about here in the US.

Battle to stabilise earthquake reactors

Fukushima Nuclear Accident – a simple and accurate explanation « BraveNewClimate

MIT NSE Nuclear Information Hub (http://web.mit.edu/nse/) | Information about the incident at the Fukushima Nuclear Plants in Japan hosted by http://web.mit.edu/nse/ :: Maintained by the students of the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering a

 

[Midnight Marauder]

How long will it last for the people of Japan?

When will it be safe for them to get back to 'normal' if you can call it that.


My heart goes out to ALL of them, I know we all feel helpless not being able to do anything.

(But donate $$ of course, and say prayers for them)

The answer my friend.... Is blowing in the wind.

Literally.