Here is our best advice in case of a reactor accident that releases large amounts of radioactive material. If there is evidence of increased radioactivity in the air, stay indoors and breath filtered air. Forced evacuations make taking this action far more difficult. It is worth the effort to take sensible precautions against inhaling or […]
Chernobyl Health Effects: Best Available Data
Therefore, the immediate death toll from the accident was 31. Since the accident, 11 more deaths – possibly caused by radiation – have occurred among the population of highly exposed people, bringing the death toll to 42.The health effects of the accident at Chernobyl have been the subject of numerous intensive studies. Here are the […]
Long Term Exposure: Health Studies of Nuclear Pros
Large populations of people have been exposed to carefully measured quantities of radiation in their professional work with nuclear power plant systems. These long term exposures to low level radiation offer a unique opportunity to determine what risk, if any, this new industry has added to the general level of risk in people’s daily lives. […]
Learning from the Past: Lesson from Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Following the end of World War II, an extensive study was performed on the survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The study involved 91,230 people; 37,173 of whom were far enough from the explosion that they received virtually no radiation. This group served as the control group because their living environment […]
Letter from the Editor: Exaggerated Truths are Falsehoods
The dose makes the poison. Almost anything can be a poison or health hazard if the dose is high enough. Most people are aware of this idea and use it in their daily decision making. Unfortunately, people do not often question just what constitutes a small, harmless dose and what constitutes a poisonous dose. Over […]
How Deadly is Plutonium?
Rarely is the word “plutonium” published in a major news source without the adjective “deadly” nearby. Ralph Nader, noted activist and lawyer, once claimed that plutonium was “the most toxic substance known to mankind.” Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent each year in the United States doing studies of the characteristics of a […]
Constant Exposure: How Much Radiation is Normal?
Everyone on earth is continually exposed to radiation. It comes from the certain isotopes of carbon and potassium in the food we eat, from cosmic radiation, from radon gas and from the decay of naturally occurring uranium, thorium and their decay products. Radiation: A Part of Daily Life There is a wide variation in the […]
