3 ms·
> An article posted here a couple days back mentions the hot zones around Fukushima are 3x less radioactive than downtown Denver. This is something to think abo
by wazoox 14y ago
> An article posted here a couple days back mentions the hot zones around Fukushima are 3x less radioactive than downtown Denver. This is something to think about.
Radiation is like cancer: one word to describe many different, related phenomenons. Denver radioactivity comes from radon, which is a relatively harmless gas as long as you allow it to disperse rapidly. OTOH pollution from nuclear accidents mainly comes from caesium which mimics calcium and get fixated on bones, thus provoking long, continuous, deep exposition to radiation.
- DennisP 14y agoTrue, but the decay products of radon are solid alpha-emitters that get lodged in people's lungs. And the comparisons to Fukushima are generally in terms of rem, which is already adjusted for biological effect.
- rbanffy 14y agoThe numbers quoted in the article were, IIRC, about cellular damage and aren't dependent of the isotope the person was exposed to. I agree some radioactive materials are much more dangerous than others and a noble gas has less chances of ending up in important molecules inside your body, but if the scale measures damage, not exposition, I assume they are equivalent.