a reply to:
Grovit
The trouble with radiation is that aside from any potentially lethal effects it has on the body, is that prolonged exposure to certain isotopes, if
it does not outright kill, can cause a syndrome called Chronic Radiation Syndrome. This is a different, and much rarer complaint than the more
familiar Acute Radiation Syndrome, simply because it is extremely rare for someone to come into prolonged enough contact with weak enough radioactive
material to give them symptoms, without killing them . The acute form of the syndrome was famously suffered by survivors of the nuclear assaults on
Japan for example.
Chronic Radiation Syndrome has many similar symptoms to the acute form, but the main points of divergence are that ARS occurs when the body has
received radiation damage at a rate which is so fast, that the body has had no opportunity to recover, that no internal repairs could be made by the
bodies own regenerative systems, and that it occurs as a result of massive and rapid exposure. CRS is caused by much longer exposure, to much lower
level radiation, and crucially, the body has a chance to repair at least some of the damage caused to it by the radiation, which means that the
resulting damage will be debilitating rather than unrelentingly and rapidly fatal.
The chances are that once Mr Hahn had been exposed to a certain degree, his cognition was permanently effected by the radiation exposure, which has
caused him to continue to seek out these radioactive isotopes since the dismantling of his reactor, despite the obvious danger of possessing them and
being in proximity to them without the appropriate protections. Cognitive impairment occurs after a certain amount of exposure, over a certain amount
of time. The dose, and the amount of time it was delivered for, not to mention whether or not medical assistance is sought, determines whether or not
that impairment will be necessarily permanent.
Since Hahn had repeatedly refused medical examination nearer to the time of the majority of his exposure, it is likely that he has indeed suffered
permanent cognitive impairment as a result of that exposure. It may also explain his apparent desire to continue to expose himself to radiation, since
that is the sort of thing one would only ever decide to do, if indeed one had first completely and utterly lost the plot, gone off the reservation,
lost his marbles, and variously gone completely bonkers.
Mr Hahns physical condition ought to be studied closely by disaster management organisations if you ask me. He is one of very few people to receive
the right dosage of radiation to get Chronic Radiation Syndrome, and his current condition might prove interesting to anyone whose field of interest
relates to the potential problems of surviving the aftermath of a nation wide, or globally effective nuclear event.
I find his case fascinating, and I would love to pick the brains of doctors working on him at the moment, from both the psychological, and
neurological fields. The physiological damage to his body in general is probably quite extensive, as we can clearly see that the fellow has a fairly
pronounced skin condition, and that probably does not even come close to indicating the extent of the damage within his body.
edit on 29-11-2014 by TrueBrit because: grammatical and factual improvements.
edit on 29-11-2014 by TrueBrit because: Further
grammatical improvements.