4 ms·
Sure, the air may not be tremendously hot (though I'm still seeing reports of 10-20 µSv/h as far out from the plant as 5km, when the US CFR's recommended annual
by rosser 12y ago
Sure, the air may not be tremendously hot (though I'm still seeing reports of 10-20 µSv/h as far out from the plant as 5km, when the US CFR's recommended annual aggregate dose limit for individuals is 1 mSv), but what about the groundwater? What about the soil?
- sliverstorm 12y agoNot an expert on these things, but as I understand it the groundwater can't actually become radioactive, it picks up trace radioactive material. So the next question is, how hard is that to filter, and how many people in Japan drink unfiltered groundwater.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- ars 12y agoYes, that is correct. Water can not become environmentally radioactive except as tritiated water which has a short lifetime both radioactively, and biologically. The longest half life for radioactive oxygen is 2 minutes. Tritium (from hydrogen) has a half life of 12 years, and is harmless externally. Internally it's dangerous but has a half life of only 1 to 2 weeks, so the danger is very limited. Mitigating the risk even more, tritium is rarely made by reactors (i.e. made in very small quantities), they prefer to make deuterium, which is not radioactive.