Going bananas over radiation
With all the worries over radiation leaks from Japan, and hoarding of Potassium Iodide tablets, I thought it valuable to repost a link to this story from last month which was very popular.
Many people in the USA would be surprised to learn that they will get more radiation from eating a single banana than they would from Japan’s nuclear reactors.
A banana equivalent dose is a concept occasionally used by nuclear power proponents to place in scale the dangers of radiation by comparing exposures to the radiation generated by a common banana.
Full story:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/02/16/going-bananas-over-radiation/
UPDATE: My friend John Coleman of KUSI-TV in San Diego offers this explanatory video:
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crosspatch says:
March 17, 2011 at 8:20 pm
FACT: Nobody at Fukushima Dai-ichi has died from radiation
And?
The man that lead the team to pour cement over the reactor at Chernobyl didn’t die until 8 months later.
Doug Badgero says:
March 17, 2011 at 8:20 pm
26000 people died due to dam failures in China, this is another example of human fallibility in design considerations. It is nothing for China to kill 2000-6000 coal miners annually. Should we stop coal mining and dam building?
There is a large number of deaths in other areas of industry in China too. China does not have the labor laws that America has. The safety standards for dams in China is not the same as America either. To talk about how many deaths occur in coal mining and dam failure in China is skewed. Many people die in China in all kinds of industry every year. If we were to propose closing down any industry because deaths in that industry occurred in China we would close many industries.
But organic bannanas aren’t radioactive, right? I mean, organic is better for you so they must be safer…
Amino Acids in Meteorites says:
March 17, 2011 at 8:44 pm
The reactor disaster in Japan is like salt being rubbed into wounds.
Bad news anyway you look at it.
If defective control rods are at play, it wouldn’t be the 1st time for TOKAI.
http://www.aec.gov.tw/www/english/nuclear/files/2005-03.pdf
Nor would it be the 1st time Marathon Control Rods have had problems.
And example of the spin and distortion in this story:
Just heard a story on the radio about the US Navy sending water pumps to Dai-ichi. When asked why they hadn’t sent them before, the US spokeswoman said that the Japanese had only just now asked for them and that “I think they are only just now beginning to realize how serious this is”.
That is total horse hockey. They didn’t ask for them before because they didn’t have any way of powering them before. Only now have they been able to obtain the power in order to run any pumps (still not hooked up yet). So while the power is being connected, the pumps are on their way.
sHx says:
March 17, 2011 at 8:39 pm
Is it because coal is really worse than uranium?
What’s more is that more than $40 billion has been put into the study of hot fusion in America alone. Coal oil and natural gas have not had this kind of investment to be successful.
rbateman says:
March 17, 2011 at 8:38 pm
manufactured by GE-Hitachi.
GE, they bring good things to life.
/sarc
“What’s puzzling is the attitude of climate skeptics. Some of them have made common cause with the likes of Monbiot on the nuclear issue.”
I’ve never made common cause with Monbiot nor do I intend to. I support nuclear now, and have supported it in the past because of pollution (the real kind like soot and noxious gases) from coal burning. I’d like to see coal be liquified for transportation and gas/oil used for manufacturing purposes. I’m a BIG supporter of CO2.
Rhoda R
If a fire broke out at a coal electricity plant do you think you’d volunteer to help put out the fire? Also, would you volunteer to fly to Japan to help put out the fires that keep starting up at Fukushima?
And a final question, if you had to pick one of the fires to go help to put out which would you rather go to? The coal plant or the nuclear plant?
sHx, “What’s puzzling is the attitude of climate skeptics. Some of them have made common cause with the likes of Monbiot on the nuclear issue. Why? Was Monbiot correct afterall in claiming that CO2 is the greater evil? Is it because coal is really worse than uranium? Are the dangers of GHGs really greater than the dangers of the radiation and nuclear waste? The way the nuclear disaster in Japan has been downplayed in climate skeptic blogs is shameful. Absolutely shameful!”
No one cares what Monboit’s position is on Nuclear energy, no skeptic here is defending it because they want to reduce carbon emissions. They are doing so because they are against alarmist hysteria and believe Nuclear to be one of the viable sources of future electrical generation. Defending nuclear power does not mean rejection of other viable sources such as coal or natural gas. What you are claiming is if Monboit likes McDonald’s Big Mac we should automatically hate it – total nonsense. Is this supposed to be some silly reverse psychology ploy? Because it is not working,
Myth: Nuclear Energy is Dangerous (Video) (5min)
@crosspatch
“That is total horse hockey. They didn’t ask for them before because they didn’t have any way of powering them before. Only now have they been able to obtain the power in order to run any pumps (still not hooked up yet). So while the power is being connected, the pumps are on their way.”
That’s nonsense! The Japanese needed the power in order to operate the plant’s own equipment or whatever left of it, or what’s , not to operate the high-power pumps sent by Americans.
You ought to stop misleading the readers about the true nature of the disaster, crosspatch.
The Japanese government has asked anyone up to 30 Km away from the plant to get out. American government has asked its citizens to get 50 Km away. Australian government is asking all Aussies in Tokyo to leave. The IAEA is so concerned and so distrustful of the Japanese government’s pronouncements that, its chief has gone to Japan to get more accurate information himself.
This is one instance where I’d trust what governments and the media are saying… over and above what a blog commenter, who is skeptical of what he hears on the radio, has to say.
A lot of climate skeptics have become so wedded to the idea that nuke is safe that they are having hard time to come to the terms with this very serious nuclear incident.
Just ignore “what’s”.
I lived through all the testing at the Nevada Test Site and lived in So Nevada for a good many years. With the proper clothing I would help get the water supply going at those plants! I had an Aunt and Uncle that worked at ORNL during the war and they recently passed away living to their late 90s.
As my parents owned a business at the time I met quite a few people that worked at the Test Site during the time the above ground testing was being done.
The classic irony is that the advertisement above this article was about not eating bananas! “5 Foods to never eat:” followed by a picture of a yellow banana. [:)]
Poptech says:
March 17, 2011 at 9:43 pm
Myth: Nuclear Energy is Dangerous (Video) (5min)
Gosh, nuclear energy is so much fun.
Hey, would you like to catch a flight to Fukushima and drag some water hoses to the #3 reactor, #4 reactor, and those cooling ponds? They’d probably take a volunteer. Apparently no one has volunteered for the fun yet. They must not know the fun they’re missing out on.
sHx, “A lot of climate skeptics have become so wedded to the idea that nuke is safe that they are having hard time to come to the terms with this very serious nuclear incident.”
Oh no, I hope I don’t receive another 2% of my annual natural dose I received from the Cherynobl “fallout”. The end is near! Better start popping the Potassium Iodide pills.
sHx says:
March 17, 2011 at 9:43 pm
The Japanese government has asked anyone up to 30 Km away from the plant to get out. American government has asked its citizens to get 50 Km away.
The American government is saying 80 km (approx 50 miles) now.
I had some hopes yesterday after hearing a report about power being on at #6 that things would get better soon. But then there was the report today of another fire and the ponds being dry again. I really do think an international team should go in and end this horror movie.
Mike Davis says:
March 17, 2011 at 9:52 pm
With the proper clothing I would help get the water supply going at those plants!
Thank you. Get over there and get it done.
low doses of radiation
all good, yeah?
nothing to worry about, yeah?
last I heard they were spraying the meltdowns (plural) with water canons and dropping water from choppers. last I heard the places was still on fire.
low doses of radiation
all good, yeah?
nothing to worry about, yeah?
how many days do we have nothing to worry about?
they didn’t have any way of powering them before.
Heck, we could have all pitched in and gone to Home Depot, bought one of them pull cord gas engine generators, and Fed Ex-ed it to them.
Gary, last I heard the pressure of all the Reactor Pressure Vessels was stable. I hope ”
“stable” does not mean it will blow up like a thermo-nuclear warhead! I am going to now run around hysterical for five minutes and then practice my duck and cover under my desk so I am ready.
Knowledge is King.
Find a remote island.
Build a sturdy sarcophagus lined with boron/lead/cement/sand/etc, with a lead lid that can be rolled on afterward.
Drop in one of these Mark 1 reactors with no cooling and let it totally melt down to see what happens to it. The presence of water during meltdown might be part of the problem, like water over hot grease makes an explosion, so let it run dry.
It might just sit there and become a stable glowing ball of molten uranium,
similar to molten lava. Something new might form….
Perhaps radioactivity is what helps make all the molten lava in the center of the earth that comes out of volcanoes…. (not just plate friction)
Part of the problem is no one knows what really happens in a meltdown, which causes fear. It won’t blow up. Some radiation will release, but it is a finite amount of material, and cannot compare to a nuclear bomb. Fear of the unknown is what is feeding the fear. Give it a good test and let it do a total meltdown, then we will know the worst case. If something weird happens, open a flood gate from the ocean and let it cool by gravity feed. The earth can handle it. Knowledge is King.
Can you imagine what a scintillating experience it will be when the mid-year 2011 Prius and Toyota offerings come ashore at loading docks up and down the left coast. If you are one of dozens or tens of dozens of people wishing to assemble a dirty bomb in this country there has never been a better time to get cracking.
I feel I have to post this warning from the California Public Heath Department.
HEALTH ADVISORY: LA County residents cautioned to AVOID ingesting potassium iodide
Based on current situation, there is NO increased risk of radiation exposure from nuclear power complex situation in Japan
http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/phcommon/public/media/mediapubdetail.cfm?unit=media&ou=ph&prog=media&resultyear=2007&prid=886&row=25&start=1