Minuscule radiation spikes in Wisconsin air pose no risk to human health, State says

[eowyn_of_rohan]

Miniscule spikes in background radiation levels at monitors around Wisconsin, including detections of radioactive elements that only come from nuclear reactions, were likely from the failing Japanese nuclear plant, according to the state Department of Health Services.

"It is important to emphasize that the slightly elevated radiation levels detected in Wisconsin represent no risk to human health at this time," said Paul Schmidt, who heads the department's radiation protection section.

Schmidt and other public health officials as well as UW-Madison nuclear experts said detected levels remain far below measurements that would be considered dangerous and even below the levels of radiation humans are regularly exposed to from the sun or air travel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Supposed to rain tomorrow. Take your umbrella, as it will be radioactive.

[gateley]

1. We're awash in radiation that "poses no risk to human health". I'm sick of this

shit. What will happen when/if it DOES pose a risk to human health?

[Jackpine Radical]

2. You will be told

that it poses no risk to human health.


Any other questions?

[gateley]

4. Ha! Just watch - that's exactly what they WOULD say! nt

[undeterred]

3. Less dangerous than big turd in the Capitol.

[skepticscott]

5. You've been awash in radiation

that poses no risk to human health since before you were born. And yet here you are.

What was your point again?

[gateley]

6. Gee, haven't heard that argument more than a hundred times since this happened

:eyes:

My point, again, is that in addition to all that radiation, PLUS the radiation we subject ourselves to (TV, phones, etc) I don't want to add to it.

Doesn't it concern you that when we get X-rays the techs don protective covering and dive behind a shield? That people receiving radiation for medical reasons reach a lifetime limit?

This stuff is cumulative. And you think that's okay?

[skepticscott]

10. You really don't understand science at all, do you?

Just fearmongering. Especially if you think radiation from phones is dangerous.

Of course you don't WANT any more arsenic or mercury or any of a thousand other things that are bad for you than you have to have, but as with everything, it's the dose that matters. And the safety limits for radiation workers is set FAR below the level that is likely to do detectable harm.

There's a reason you've heard this argument a hundred times...it's based on fact. The fact that you would rather believe the worst doesn't change that.

[gateley]

11. No, I don't know science at all. Nor am I big on fearmongering. I'm expressing

my opinion and my belief. Am I not entitled to that? What do you care if I'm wrong? :shrug:

[postulater]

7. link?

[eowyn_of_rohan]

9. link

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/health_med_fit/article_bd0cc1b0-5bef-11e0-9259-001cc4c03286.html

[Drale]

8. Is Scott Walker trying to kill the opposition now?

I'm sorry I'm sorry I couldn't help it. And we get bombarded with tons of radiation everyday from that bright thing in the sky called the sun and from the earth itself. In fact without radiation there would be no weather. No all levels of radiation are bad for you.

[Octafish]

12. There is NO safe amount of radiation.

For example: What Physicians for Social Responsibility are saying about plutonium.

[skepticscott]

13. Then why

are you still alive? Your body is being bombarded with radiation of all types from all sides, every second of every day, and has been since before you were born. How do you define "safe"?

[Octafish]

16. You're confusing our natural environment with the by-products of nuclear weapons...

...and nuclear fission. Most of the plutonium contamination on the planet is due to the atmospheric testing of A-bombs and H-bombs before 1963. More came from various accidents at military and civilian nuclear reactors.

Inhaling a mote of plutonium leads to cancer. Remember, American citizens, including children, were used to learn about the affects of radiation.

As fuel in Reactor No. 3 and as a byproduct of fission in half-a-dozen spent fuel holding tanks once located in the containment buildings above the nuclear reactors themselves, Fukushima Daiichi has more than enough plutonium to make a real mess of Honshu and a hell of a lot more of the planet. Unfortunately for humanity, there's nothing natural about that.

[skepticscott]

20. Uh, no...I'm not confusing them

YOU'RE the one that said that there NO safe amount of radiation, of any kind, in any amount. That claim is blatantly false. And how, pray tell, does your body distinguish between "natural/good" and "unnatural/evil" radiation?

[athena]

21. The statement refers to IONIZING radiation.

It's ironic that people who clearly know little about physics go around putting other people down for not knowing much physics.

When a photon or particle hits one of the atoms in your body, if it can transfer enough energy to break bonds (i.e., to ionize the atoms), then it can cause cancer. When you increase the amount of ionizing radiation in your environment, then, by definition, you are increasing your chances of getting cancer. The increase, of course, may be small enough that its effects are unmeasurable.

That being said, the levels of radiation in the U.S. and Europe that are caused by the Fukushima incident are so tiny that all the hysteria on this board is embarrassing. The people who are truly at risk are in Japan, and our thoughts should be with them. But most people are so self-centered that they are more worried about a miniscule increase in radiation levels in their environment than about people being exposed to dangerous levels in Japan.

What bothers me most about the response to this accident is the polarization. We have people who claim the world is ending, and people who claim there is nothing to worry about and that we should build more fission reactors. My view is in between: it's silly to panic about radiation levels in the U.S. or Europe due to Fukushima, but the risk we take in filling our environment with fission reactors is too high, especially in light of the financial incentives that cause nuclear plants to resist additional safety measures.

[11 Bravo]

14. I am here to respond to that due to radiation.

I was diagnosed with an oral cancer in 1997. Surgery was followed by a 6 week course of radiation therapy, and here I sit; marveling at the knee-jerk ignorance of some DUers.

[Octafish]

18. You know I am most gratified you are well, 11 Bravo.

Radiologists and oncologists apply radiation to fight disease by using it to kill living -- although cancerous -- tissue. It is a marvel of medicine and science that has helped people in my own family.

However, whether knee-jerk reflex or not, I post information I feel important to know because almost all of the mainstream media coverage I've seen on the unfolding disaster at Fukushima Daiichi has failed to mention how physicians view nuclear contamination, specifically plutonium.

People who ingest even a small amount of plutonium, get sick. That's something everyone should know.

[11 Bravo]

19. Thanks, Octafish. I probably snapped at you without reason.

Plutonium is undeniably a killer, but I have a special place in my heart for "radiation", and it was that to which I responded.

[bvar22]

15. Relax everybody!

They're just venting a little steam.
I know "science",
and Nuclear Reactors are Perfectly Safe.

This is simply just a little more radiation added to the dose you are already receiving every day,
just a teeny bit more.
And NEXT time, it will be just a little more added to the already existing sources or radiation.

Its ALL perfectly SAFE.
Did I mention that I know "Science"?

[eowyn_of_rohan]

17. Oh, THANK YOU! I am SO relieved

ppppppppppllllllllllbbbbbb

[in_cog_ni_to]

23. I just LOVE how every report includes the word, "miniscule" as if "it's NOTHING"

you'll be fine, let your babies go out and play in the rain, let them drink that 1odine 131 laced milk...yum-yum...it's SO GOOD! NOTHING is going to hurt them. It's "miniscule." :eyes:

[dflprincess]

22. And the air in lower Manhattan was safe

Exposure to Agent Orange did not cause any illnesses or birth defects.
Exposure to atomic blasts did not cause cancer in Atomic Vets.
Feeding WWII Air Corp crews speed to keep them alert did not affect their heart health.
There is no such thing as Gulf War Syndrome and if there is, it is not caused by depleted uranium.

The list just gets longer.

[in_cog_ni_to]

24. Exactly and people wonder why some of us don't trust our government.

Sheesh. What does it take for people to realize the government is NOT on their side? If you're willing to spray your soldiers with a chemical that causes cancer, birth defects and other illnesses and DENY YOU CAUSED THOSE ILLNESSES/birth defects with your damn chemical, you would DEFINITELY lie about a countrywide radiation contamination health threat.