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Rather more like "Guy fell over looking into the volcano but fortunately there's a metal fence". The most immediate danger to you is that you'll drown because r

Rather more like "Guy fell over looking into the volcano but fortunately there's a metal fence". The most immediate danger to you is that you'll drown because radioactive water is water and you can't breathe. So the life vest avoids this. In contrast volcanic lava absolutely can kill you before you drown, no problem. Yes, radioactivity isn't good. You should not, for example, drink this water, or swim in it once a week for good luck. But, it isn't magic death fluid, the worker will have been decontaminated - destroying clothing, washing skin and so on, and the additional exposure means they might get more monitoring, but they're probably fine.

weinzierl 1y ago
In addition to that they increased their likelihood to get cancer earlier than they would otherwise. Many things have this effect, for example alcohol. In the end everyone get cancer eventually, some just die before from other causes.
- lazide 1y ago
  Unlikely in this case. Water is amazingly as a shielding medium, and unless the water was contaminated (very unlikely, as it’s easily detected and heavily monitored) he likely got lower than background levels while in the pool itself.
  - fwip 1y ago
    The article seems to indicate that the radiation level in their hair was notably elevated.
    - lazide 1y ago
      Unfortunately, it also provided no useful information quantifying the statements. Maybe there is a problem elsewhere, maybe the pool is contaminated, maybe the sensor used is very sensitive and 300 cpm is not as concerning as it would seem. It sure would be nice to have actual data, wouldn’t it?
      - weinzierl 1y ago
        The reactor cavity water is usually moderately radioactive from activation and small leaks. Not life-threatening but certainly a long term health risk, especially when ingested. That is why the person was advised to seek medical attention. Regulatory bodies have adopted the LNT (linear no threshold) model and for good reasons. Every exposure increases your likelihood to get cancer eventually. Many things do, such is life, and radiation is one of them.
        lazide 1y ago
        It was deactivated and being refueled, so likely something leaked somewhere. But that should be a lot more than a ‘we dunno’ if so - it’s not like it’s not going to be clear from isotopic analysis eh? Or hopefully they at least have some decent spectrum on it. And it should show up in realtime monitoring of the water, unless they just turned that off.
        nandomrumber 1y ago
        There’s no data that shows LNT is correct.
yetihehe 1y ago
> If you’re concerned about staying within safe radiation levels, Ken Jorgustin explains on the Modern Survival Blog that it would take 432 days at a CPM of 100 to up your chance of getting cancer to odds of 1 in 1,000 > The individual was decontaminated by radiation protection personnel but had 300 counts per minute detected in their hair. This event will result in acute hair loss. From shaving machine.
- elcritch 1y ago
  Unfortunate because for the first time in his life he had RAD hair. ;)
saagarjha 1y ago
I think you would probably explode if you hit lava to be honest
froggit 1y ago
Not sure how fortunate that metal fence would be. Apparently those things conduct heat. "Fortunately guy who fell in volcano landed on the white hot chain link safety fence deep inside and was grilled to death over a span of several minutes. His last thoughts were on how lucky he was that at least he hadn't fallen in a reactor pool without a life vest."
- tialaramex 1y ago
  Wait, when the guy falls on the dangerously hot fence, why the fuck doesn't anybody pull them away? The nuclear reactor pool guy presumably didn't just float there until he got the idea to haul himself out, everybody else went "Shit! Bob fell into the water, quick help me get him out".

weinzierl 1y ago

In addition to that they increased their likelihood to get cancer earlier than they would otherwise. Many things have this effect, for example alcohol. In the end everyone get cancer eventually, some just die before from other causes.

lazide 1y ago
Unlikely in this case. Water is amazingly as a shielding medium, and unless the water was contaminated (very unlikely, as it’s easily detected and heavily monitored) he likely got lower than background levels while in the pool itself.
- fwip 1y ago
  The article seems to indicate that the radiation level in their hair was notably elevated.
  - lazide 1y ago
    Unfortunately, it also provided no useful information quantifying the statements. Maybe there is a problem elsewhere, maybe the pool is contaminated, maybe the sensor used is very sensitive and 300 cpm is not as concerning as it would seem. It sure would be nice to have actual data, wouldn’t it?
    - weinzierl 1y ago
      The reactor cavity water is usually moderately radioactive from activation and small leaks. Not life-threatening but certainly a long term health risk, especially when ingested. That is why the person was advised to seek medical attention. Regulatory bodies have adopted the LNT (linear no threshold) model and for good reasons. Every exposure increases your likelihood to get cancer eventually. Many things do, such is life, and radiation is one of them.
      - lazide 1y ago
        It was deactivated and being refueled, so likely something leaked somewhere. But that should be a lot more than a ‘we dunno’ if so - it’s not like it’s not going to be clear from isotopic analysis eh? Or hopefully they at least have some decent spectrum on it. And it should show up in realtime monitoring of the water, unless they just turned that off.
      - nandomrumber 1y ago
        There’s no data that shows LNT is correct.

yetihehe 1y ago

> If you’re concerned about staying within safe radiation levels, Ken Jorgustin explains on the Modern Survival Blog that it would take 432 days at a CPM of 100 to up your chance of getting cancer to odds of 1 in 1,000 > The individual was decontaminated by radiation protection personnel but had 300 counts per minute detected in their hair. This event will result in acute hair loss. From shaving machine.

elcritch 1y ago
Unfortunate because for the first time in his life he had RAD hair. ;)

saagarjha 1y ago

I think you would probably explode if you hit lava to be honest

froggit 1y ago

Not sure how fortunate that metal fence would be. Apparently those things conduct heat. "Fortunately guy who fell in volcano landed on the white hot chain link safety fence deep inside and was grilled to death over a span of several minutes. His last thoughts were on how lucky he was that at least he hadn't fallen in a reactor pool without a life vest."

tialaramex 1y ago
Wait, when the guy falls on the dangerously hot fence, why the fuck doesn't anybody pull them away? The nuclear reactor pool guy presumably didn't just float there until he got the idea to haul himself out, everybody else went "Shit! Bob fell into the water, quick help me get him out".