Japan declares 'nuclear emergency' after quake - PART 2

*snip*
You do realize what was/is in those reactors is more than just 'radiation', right? That there was MOX fuel, and lots of it? How about all the plutonium that blew up? Yep just one particle of that sucker is a death sentence!

How about you get some genuine readings around the plant and water near where it's leaking on video? Hmm... probably can't get close to the facilities? Why not if they're so safe? How about testing some of the fish that come out of the waters downstream yourself on video too while you're at it? We'd love to know the levels are not as bad as we believe they are - but no one can 'show' otherwise. Just throwing out that your group says it's all good is ridiculous - you cannot back it up with any numbers and basis. I can go outside my house and assure everyone the temperature is fine, it's +/- 15 - means nothing on its own and you tell us to do some science?

Yes radiation is used in medicine, but in miniscule amounts. It is not released all over the hospitals in large amounts in perpetuity, it is not mixed with plutonium and cesium and and and... Your points are irrelevant to this topic, without substance and I, for one, have no idea why you keep posting on 'this' thread. Don't you have your own thread to post on now?

*snip*

reply to post by wishes

*snip*
Like this fantasy:

He (Gundersen) has been making the rounds of the advertiser supported media recently with stories about the dangers of “hot particles” that are so tiny they cannot be picked up by normal radiation detectors. (Note: Radiation can be measured at extremely low levels, far below the levels that can cause human health effects. There is a reason why doctors inject small amounts radioactive materials into their patients as tracers to assist them in diagnosing organ function – those tracers make bodily systems visible without endangering the patient. If the hot particles are so tiny and dispersed that they cannot be detected, they are nothing to worry about.)

Alpha emitters have a short decay path. So short that ordinary "Mueller Tube" detectors don't pick up the radiation emitted from them unless they are within a few centimeters. Considering that the body is a lot thicker than that it would be impossible to detect a particle of Plutonium inside a lung from outside the body with a Mr. Inspector. The alpha "waves" peter out inside the body before reaching the ionization chamber. The only way to detect that plutonium in the lung for instance is with whats called a scintillator used by medical facilities to perform a study of the body called a "whole body dose". Its a long, expensive test but detects even alpha emitters because of their decay rate over time (hours).

Ever see the movie "Silkwood"? Good movie. HIghly recommended.
---
Injecting radio isotopes as tracers into human blood streams is done because the particular isotopes used are short lived and decay rapidly (within hours). The harm of irradiating the body is offset by the potential benefit of life saving medical techniques for people with fatal diseases.

They don't use plutonium for that, by the way.

My favorite part from the above quote:

If the hot particles are so tiny and dispersed that they cannot be detected, they are nothing to worry about.)

Yes, indeed. Baldfaced lie. It is precisely that atoms of radioactive elements are "so tiny" that they present the hazard they do. Even one atom.

There is no safe low dose of radioactive plutonium. It is in fact the most toxic substance on the planet.

reply to post by wishes


Regarding MOX:

.But reactor No. 3 at Fukushima Daiichi, one of the units that has experienced severe problems in the past two weeks, has one characteristic that differentiates it from its neighboring reactors and from any operating reactor in the U.S. Among the hundreds of standard nuclear fuel assemblies in its core, which rely on the splitting of uranium atoms to release energy, are some that contain a mix of uranium and plutonium.

This so-called mixed oxide, or MOX, fuel was loaded into Fukushima Daiichi reactor No. 3 in 2010 and has found use in several other countries' power plants as well. And a big-budget U.S. government project is scheduled to begin producing MOX for domestic utilities in 2016.

Source

Every day medical procedures as well as research utilize radioactive dyes such as radioiodine. This results in production of large amounts of radioactive wastes. An environmental waste consultant company called EcoEndeavors was commissioned to examine the sludge at an Ann Arbor, Michigan, Waste Water Treatment Plant, which receives waste from the University of Michigan hospital complex. The diagram below demonstrates the major contributors of wastewater from the various hospitals in the complex and the relationship between the wastewater plant and the Huron River. Radioactive releases from these institutions flow into a municipal wastewater treatment plant and are processed with other wastes into sludge matter that is removed, dehydrated, and either land-applied or incinerated. The treated effluent (or water) is then dumped into the Huron River. The sewage effluent may contain suspended particles and entrapped radioactivity not removed in the primary treatment.

Source

OK Folks. Let's address the topic and stop the personal sniping, Please.

You are free to attack theories, explanations, posts, etc. but not fellow members.



For your reading pleasure...

Mod Note: ALL MEMBERS: We expect civility and decorum within all topics - Please Review This Link.

Ad Hominem Attacks And You

Mod Note: Please Review the Following Link: Courtesy Is Mandatory

reply to post by crankyoldman


When I found the ATS website I was worried flooding would damage a reactor in the Midwest.
I had tried to learn more about it online and came across real full time paid nuclear workers.
They new the designs what reactors were where, everything. They even knew when the water got near the plant a levee would be blown up saving the day. I put up with every abuse the written word could dish out on other sites. Here on AST there was some abuse, but that was for my spelling, my grammar and anything else that took away from the ideas I was trying to convey. Hard to say but I'm grateful.

*snip*

closed for Staff Review