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So, the Russian soldiers are all probably breathing this dust and their equipment will spread it to where ever they deploy in Ukraine? That doesn't sound good a
by yumraj 5y ago
So, the Russian soldiers are all probably breathing this dust and their equipment will spread it to where ever they deploy in Ukraine? That doesn't sound good at all.
- pjc50 5y agoThere's an invasion on, nothing about it sounds good!
- ajsnigrutin 5y agoConsidering that they're mostly just passing by, and that the levels are not really high, it won't be that bad. I didn't do the math, but the radiation levels for driving past there, or staying there for a day or two, would probably be very low, and comparable to a lot of other stuff we do without thinking (plane rides, xrays etc.)
- temac 5y agoThey will breath the dust and get some internal radiation though. Not really a problem for the others if they move after that, but not very good for them.
- connordoner 5y agoOne might argue that’s a price you pay when murdering innocent civilians in land that isn’t yours, no?
- yumraj 5y agoYeah, but Putin's not the one breathing it - the foot soldiers are.
- chasil 5y agoI am drawn to the words of Stephen Decatur. "In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong." I am sure there are many perspectives tonight with the same focus. Perhaps it is a great impediment to what must be done for our species, but it is hard to let go.
- belval 5y agoNot to be a apologist of what Russia is doing (really really against the current invasion/occupation) but from what we've seen around social media, it's not clear that the actual soldiers on the ground understand that they aren't "liberating" the Ukrainians from actual Nazis. They are fed misinformation on a daily basis and at least some of them see themselves as the "good guys". It does not excuse anything really, but I wouldn't wish them pulmonary cancer.
- ajsnigrutin 5y agoEh, the soldiers know... it's for "power", against nato, and to get a bit more of the land. Look at every past conflict, every american soldier in iraq knew, that they were going in to get the oil, everything else was just propaganda for the taxpayers.
- thrashh 5y agoYeah this war is to try to stop NATO expansion, especially into Ukraine. In a way, it may do that. It’s just silly because countries have considered joining NATO because they don’t perceive Russia as a good friend, and in response, Russia doubles down as a bad friend.
- quadrangle 5y agoSounds like a significant-other who is paranoid, and then when you leave them because they are crazy, they use it to justify their paranoia and become a stalker. Okay, not really a good analogy but sorta good
- stjohnswarts 5y agoFor further clarification this is NOT a war to stop NATO expansion as Ukraine was no where near that and it could have been stopped diplomatically. This is a war started by a dictator who has aims to restore the USSR before he kills over or is deposed in the next 10 to 15 years. This war is about nothing more than Putin's ego. Just for clarification.
- mr_mitm 5y agoBeing sent into war is also not very good for them. The radiation is probably the least of their worries.
- contravariant 5y agoThe problem with breathing the stuff is that it may stay with you for quite a while. This isn't the worst thing with gamma radiation since most radiation will just pass through the body, but beta or alpha radiation could be worrying if that's still present (I don't know if it is, but disturbing the ground in Chernobyl and breathing the resulting dust doesn't sound like the safest way to find out)
- lazide 5y agoThey are soldiers in an active war zone. They have far more serious and pressing concerns than a slightly elevated radiation dose.
- DominikD 5y agoThey aren't just passing by. There's an ongoing fight for the control over this terrain. And, in the unlikely event of Russian troops retreating, I wouldn't put past Russia bombing it.
- petters 5y agoCompared to the other things the soldiers will likely be doing, this sounds like an irrelevant problem.
- ARandomerDude 5y agoMost wartime deaths are not combat deaths. Disease, dehydration, accidents, etc. have always been the greatest source of casualties.
- lazide 5y agoUnless someone goes into the main containment building and starts licking things, this is unlikely to do much of anything. Getting shot by Ukrainians however, is very real danger.
- JulianMorrison 5y agoIf they have any sense they'll be wearing NBC suits and filtering respirators. They (or their leadership) may not have any sense.
- kergonath 5y agoThe danger is mostly for themselves. Bringing tiny amounts of dust with them is not a huge problem. However, having alpha emitters in your lung and intestines because you breathed, drank and ate in a contaminated environment is a death sentence.
- lazide 5y agoDose makes the poison. It’s very unlikely the amounts they’re getting will make any difference.
- kergonath 5y agoAlpha emitters in your body will kill you. Dose pretty much does not change that, only the time frame. Particularly if the dose is lodged next to cells that divide very quickly, like those lining the lungs and intestines (which have to renew frequently because of their role as barriers protecting the organism from a whole lot of bad things). “Dose makes the poison” sounds good and is a good rule of thumb in most cases, but 1) it is not absolute, and 2) some things have an unbelievably small lethal dose.
- lazide 5y agoThanks for agreeing with me I guess? Or do you have any concrete information that the risk to then is actually higher from this than catching a bullet (or a mine) from the Ukrainian army or resistance? Because there definitely are already a lot more dead Russians from the Ukrainians than from radiation sources they exposed themselves to a part of this invasion.