would US be affected by Japan reactor meltdowns?

[quinnox]

I'm wondering if the meltdowns happened at those troubled reactors would the united states be affected and where in the country, and how much radiation would there be, this is getting to be concerning.

[Hannah Bell]

1. the world would be affected; it's just the extent that's debatable.

[Swede]

2. It depends how much radiation gets into the air.

Hopefully they get a handle on this.

[seabeyond]

3. i heard hawaii and pacific coast. but you would think if something was that close

to seriously be happening, they would be educating those that might be effected.

[AlabamaLibrul]

4. Told to get under the school desks n/t

[seabeyond]

7. lol. i am thinking that is when the bog one is dropped on us. you are from 60's

arent you

[Newest Reality]

5. If they do have a meltdown and radioactive material is

released in the air and travels the jet stream, that would be a good time to get some iodine pills and take them as a prophylactic to keep the radiation from building-up in your thyroid if you are exposed to any.

Some people have them around for events like that and I used to. Dosimeters are nice to have too. They are little pen-shaped devices that measure your exposure.

[godai]

6. No...worst case is 3 Mile Island type situation.

This I learned from an expert on CNN. Unless the containment building fails (very unlikely), the radiation would be very localized, as with 3 Mile Island. It may not even get that far, if they can supply power soon.

[FBaggins]

9. Sounds about right.

On the same order of magnitude anyway.

But don't forget that there are people who still believe that TMI was a massive coverup and that many people were actually killed as a result.

[Cetacea]

16. As we witnessed in the gulf, nothing is ever covered up

[FBaggins]

17. Plenty of things are covered up.

In all areas of life. People screw up and they try to hide it.

Where it gets irrational is when you see a report and just multiply it by 1,000 because you just "know" they're lying.

[FBaggins]

8. Depends on how you define two of those terms.

"Affected" and "meltdown".

Both exist along a looooong scale. There could be a measurable amount of radiation with even a very minor meltdown all the way up to a significant health hazard from a severe accident (WELL beyond what appears particularly possible at this point) depending on weather paterns.

this is getting to be concerning.

Don't get too worried at this point. It's a really big deal, but that means that the chances have gone from, say one in several billion to one in a hundred thousand. You're still more likely to be injured in a car accident. Doesn't mean it isn't a REALLY BIG DEAL, but it isn't particularly close to disaster levels yet.

And they've had ACTUAL disasters over there to deal with today.

[Uben]

10. Have you seen the "Jesus on toast" picture?

You'd look kinda like that!

[Snoutport]

11. the EARTH would be hurt

we live in a fishbowl basically! everything that goes in the air and water just cycles through...and cycles through...and cycles through and if we're not careful everytime it cycles it gets a little bit more poisonous.

[damntexdem]

12. Hopefully, yes. It would be good if this incident slowed the rush to build more here.

Reactor safety is better than previously, but it is questionable that it is adequate given the risks.

[quinnox]

15. omg, you HOPE that we get some nuke radiation??

Unfrigginbelievable. I consider that to be insane.

[upi402]

21. Are you joking?

We are all downwinders now... WTF?

[Frank Cannon]

24. That's the second time I've seen that asinine comment on these boards.

Gotta be a troll. (I hope.)

[Duer 157099]

13. The US lives in a bubble

An exceptional bubble of exceptional proportions.

[jwirr]

14. My daughter's family were in Germany when Chernobyl happened.

They were told to stay in the house. Even then they received some radiation.

[applegrove]

18. The experts say there is no danger of meltdowns in Japan.

[JCMach1]

19. Didn't the Russians say such things too?

[applegrove]

20. The expert I was listening to on CNN said in the worst case scenario

it would be like 3 Mile Island not like Chernoble. In Chernoble they didn't get the rods to drop (or something). In Japan the rods got taken care of.

[JCMach1]

22. We don't know the status of the containment dome... until we know,

you simply can't predict...

[applegrove]

25. It is now looking much worse than it was of friday night.

[Luminous Animal]

23. All I know is that it is clean safe energy because my President tells it is so.

[Rex]

26. Yes the biosphere can become completely irradiated and kill off all life.

Worst case scenario. I have a feeling the Japanese will get a handle on things, but we might be seeing global damage regardless. Time is a factor.