Is radiation in the US milk harmful???

[CoffeeCat]

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that traces of radiation - in the form of
iodine 131 - have been found in the milk supply in Washington State. The Journal also
reports that these levels are low and that there is nothing to worry about.

"The Environmental Protection Agency said a March 25 sample of milk produced in the Spokane, Wash., area contained a 0.8 pico curies per literlevel of iodine-131, which it said was less than one five-thousandth of the safety safety guideline set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration." http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703806304...

HOWEVER, look at this interesting information which suggests that iodine-131 (which is from the
Japanese plant) is not a naturally occurring substance. Furthermore, if ingested can "emit"
radiation in the body and rest in the thyroid and other organs, causing grave damage."

"But cesium-137 and radioactive iodine - the two main radioactive substances being spewed by the leaking Japanese nuclear plants - are not naturally-occurring substances, and can become powerful internal emitters which can cause tremendous damage to the health of people who are unfortunate enough to breathe in even a particle of the substances , or ingest them in food or water. Unlike low-levels of radioactive potassium found in bananas - which our bodies have adapted to over many years - cesium-137 and iodine 131 are brand new, and very dangerous.
http://projectpangaia.blogspot.com/2011/03/comparing-ja...

BY THE WAY, HAS THE MEDIA OR ANY GOVERNMENT AGENCY TESTED FOR OR REPORTED ON CESIUM-137 LEVELS IN MILK OR IN THE AIR?

--This sounds incredibly harmful! It sounds like the media's suggestion that "we are exposed to
radiation daily!" meme is bunk. Yes, we are exposed to radiation--"external emitters" that hit
the outside of our body. Or small doses of potassium iodine in bananas--which are bodies have
adapted to. However, the iodine 131 in the milk appears to be incredibly harmful and
an "internal emitter" that travels around in your body and collects there, causing cancer and
other life-threatening damage.

It's very difficult to try and hash all of this out! It appears that if radiation (iodine 131 from the
Japanese plant) is in our milk--that people can be harmed, and even killed by post-exposure cancer.

[HopeHoops]

1. It hasn't hurt me at all - WHOA! BIG DOG! BIG DOG! I'm totally normal.

[Baclava]

15. When I add bananas to my plutonium flakes they sparkle - is this normal? n/t

[rhett o rick]

16. Good thing about plutonium flakes is if you combine more than a cup, you can have hot cereal

w/o using your stove.

[Newest Reality]

2. It is a good idea

to carefully distinguish the difference in meaning between radiation and radioactivity. There is a key element in that distinction that could be applied to other information we are getting that, intentionally or unintentionally, conflates the two.

Our problem, and the danger, is with radioactivity.

[golddigger]

3. Yes!

[dana_b]

4. ugh

can't afford that boxed milk that some people here are excited about so I guess if I must drink it, it will be soy or almond milk. Actually I kind of like the almond milk anyway but I do feel for families and kids. That's a family staple and adjusting to the alternatives or taking a risk and just drinking milk is not a fun choice for parents to make.

[CoffeeCat]

5. I know! What choices am I supposed to make...

...as a parent?

Most people stand around, waiting for instructions from the government. That's not a good idea, in
this day and age?

This sounds really bad. The more facts I read, the more dangerous this sounds. I've got kids!

If I stop buying milk--then I'm a paranoid ninny. If I don't and my kids or my family is harmed--well
then I'm a damned fool for doing nothing!

F'n A! :mad:

[abelenkpe]

9. I know what you mean...

I've decided to err on the side of being a paranoid ninny. My son doesn't really drink milk anyway. But my daughter loves the stuff like I do and will ofter just drink a big glass vs eating at all. We're not gonna buy anymore until there is a lot more information made available....and maybe not then even.

[marions ghost]

18. you are in Buyer Beware Murka

there is nobody looking after the consumer much, so it's not crazy or paranoid to wonder about the milk IMO. Anybody who stands around waiting for instructions from the govt is probably dreaming, having flashbacks to those balmy days of Smokey the Bear.

Are the farmers going to take geiger counters to the milk? I doubt it, because then they couldn't sell it. Nobody's requiring it, so the milk will be sold. There is no such thing as honor or ethics here.

My advice--do what makes you feel best. I would put kids on milk alternatives for awhile, and adults could slack off a bit. If you err on the side of safety, so what? It will make you feel better and the children will learn new food sources.

Yeah I understand the :mad: We are powerless pigs at the end of a very big trough. WHY should we be worrying about radioactive poisons in our food? Nobody has a good answer for that. It's just "consumer beware."

[Lance_Boyle]

7. If the radioactivity is a concern, then you are no better off with soy or almond milk

Soybean plants and almond trees use the same water as the blades of grass those cows are eating.

[PearliePoo2]

8. That's what I've been thinking too......

The radiation plumes from Japan are in the jet stream, no?
It's washed out and falls as rain on plants, right?
I don't see any way to avoid ingesting this stuff unless you have food/liquid that was produced prior to this catastrophe.
FUBAR

[dana_b]

10. good points.

no tap water, no milk, no soy/almond milk.... jeez...

[CoffeeCat]

14. powdered milk?

is that ok?

[Lance_Boyle]

17. if it was powdered before the cows it came from ate the radioactive grass, sure.

[gkhouston]

21. Radioactive iodine has a short half-life, so you could buy the powdered milk

and wait. It wouldn't spoil in its powdered form. I use it to bake bread and buy the big boxes because they're cheaper. I dump the box in a plastic container for easy access and use it for months with no noticeable degradation. I do try to keep it away from light, though.

We don't appear to have reached the point where this is necessary (and it's not clear to me that we will reach that point), but I believe that you could buy "contaminated" powdered or shelf-stable milk and wait about 10 days, if the only thing of concern is iodine. If the problem is some other radioactive element, we're probably already so fucked it's not going to matter what you're drinking.

[Kennah]

6. We get ours from Smith Brothers in Kent, WA

[Jackpine Radical]

11. No, actually, radiation in the milk is good for you.

[CoffeeCat]

13. Lemme guess...

...the milk will give me a nice warm, healthy glow?

[Baclava]

19. Only if it glows blue

When high velocity particles travel faster than the speed of light...

What is Cerenkov radiation?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation

[bahrbearian]

12. Its perfectly safe,,and economical,,no need to pasteurize.

[Cali_Democrat]

20. The levels of radiation aren't harmful

At least that's what the media told me.

[Ratty]

22. Don't worry about being a ninny

Why live with the stress? No matter what people tell you some anxiety is likely to creep in and with a family to take care of and trying to do what's right by your kids, do you need any MORE stress nowdays? Look at it as an experiment. Give up dairy for a month and see if you notice changes in mood or health in you or your family. Many people have minor allergies they aren't even aware of. I decided to give up dairy for a couple of months awhile back. I held my nose and ordered soy milk in my lattes and was surprised that I liked it. It wasn't nasty or gooky or saliva-ey like I had feared. Turns out I didn't feel a whit different so I went back to regular milk.

So try some soy milk, and I heard almond milk is pretty good too. Tell your family it's a grand experiment and use that as an excuse not to worry so much. Tempt them with promises of almond milk ice cream or non-dairy sorbet if you have to. I think all milk drinkers should give it up for a while at least once in their life, just to learn how it affects their body. Why not channel your anxiety into something constructive?

FWIW I'm a huge milk drinker and go through a half gallon every couple of days. I'm not concerned about the vanishingly small quantities detected here - the Homeland Security detectors they use to detect underground nuclear tests anywhere in the world are exquisitely sensitive (then again, I wouldn't get within ten feet of a glass of milk if I lived in Japan).