Cumulative risk, especially for young children?
Mr Cheever and team as well as the community on this forum,
I just read the thread quantifying the risk of drinking milk (per the latest tested sample). Others have asked what is the adjusted risk for a young child (my daughter is 2). In addition what I'm trying to gauge is what the cumulative risks are from all the things that are happening as a result of the fallout. In other words, if there is a 1 in 200,000 incremental risk of cancer from consuming the milk (but again is this for a 2 year old), what is the incremental cancer risk from breathing the air, getting rained on, drinking water, doing things that toddlers do (grab grass and put it in their mouths) and eating a range of irradiated foods. Is there any way of estimating this from all the numbers you are compiling?
Or is the only way to estimate cancer risk to compare our fallout to Europe and their post-Chernobyl cancer rates?
Thank you so much for the work you are doing to bring the raw data to the public
We are in uncharted territory
We are in uncharted territory. We can't compare this to Chernobyl. It's WORSE than Chernobyl, despite the Mt. Fujiyama of lies. We just don't know for certain where this is going. Past trends and computer models don't cut it.
What we do know: the only safe level of fission products is ZERO.
No one knows what this is going to do to babies and young people.
The "authorities" aren't going to tell us the truth, since the truth will result in a panic nationwide. The Federal government does NOT have our back; we are on our own.
Provide your little ones with only filtered/purified water, such as with the Black Berkey system (no, I do not sell them; I just trust them for good reason). Limit their consumption of milk/dairy products for the foreseeable future. Aim to purchase produce from the southern hemisphere. Sadly, we can't eliminate the risk, but we can reduce it. Let the boobs who believe in the government eat our share of the "special ingredient" food.
Scary
This is the scariest thing I've read here yet (other than what I've posted, myself, that is). What's even MORE scary is, I have a feeling this is the closest thing to the truth we've gotten yet -- or are LIKELY to get for awhile.
What horrible times we are living in... (I'd say "through", but at this point, who knows, right?)
Seconding this query
This is EXACTLY the information I have been trying to find out!
I hope they give a complete and thorough answer to this crucial question--no one else is.
I have been wondering the same thing
I am the mother of a three year old and a breastfeeding 5 month old. So I too am concerned.
a few ideas
You have probably thought of these already, but I thought I would share a few things I've been doing to reduce the cumulative risk from long-term exposure:
--avoid milk (according to the New York Times, concentrations of radioactive particles are concentrated up to 1,000x in the cow's milk--which is why it is being tested everywhere)
--buy soy milk instead for cereal, etc.
--avoid other dairy products as well; and/or stock up NOW on cheese, which will have been cultured and aged before the Fukushima accident
--eat low on the food chain (vegetables and grains instead of meat)
--stock up now on canned foods and dried beans that will last a long time and were made before the accident
--buy spring water for cooking and drinking that is labeled as coming from a spring (not a municipal water supply)
--look for produce from the southern hemisphere (for example, apples from New Zealand); the jet stream goes from west to east across the northern hemisphere; the southern hemisphere will largely avoid the fallout from Fukushima
--apples are loaded with cancer-fighting compounds; build up your body's and your children's defenses to cope with cell-damaging radiation
--there is andectodal evidence that miso soup increased the survival rate among Japanese who consumed it after WWII; it couldn't hurt! anything you can do to help your body to fight free-radical damage in the months to come will be beneficial
Hope this helps.
FWIW, I had a discussion
FWIW, I had a discussion with the meat guy at the market yesterday. I was curious how long between slaughter and meat on the shelves. To be honest, I forget all the details he threw at me (they carry many different types of meat including dry and wet aged, local only and anywhere USA and one foreign source/brand) but the bottom line was that the meat on his shelves was thought to be three weeks to five weeks "after slaughter" depending on the type. Those interested might want to have a discussion with their meat guy.
Still hoping for date on cumulative risks and
Dear last poster: thank you so much for the tips on how to protect my daughter while we wait for better data on what the risks are. I really appreciate it!