Kai Vetter (UC Berkeley) says grass and mushrooms have increased radioacticity
"UC Berkeley professors said they expect the rain to include harmless amounts of radiation drifting from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, heavily damaged in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
"There will be some radiation in the rain, but probably less than we measured in the rain two weeks ago," said Kai Vetter, an associate professor at Berkeley's Department of Nuclear Engineering and a staff physicist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
"Vetter said he found traces of radioactive isotopes from the nuclear plant in mushrooms and grass grown near his home. But the radiation appears to be dissipating, he said."
http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_rain06.23ff470.html
Any actual results you can report to us?
(From Bill)
bias continuum
I trust and appreciate BRAWM's data, mathematics and good intentions. What the original poster might want to consider is that there are different risk models when it comes to radiation exposure. BRAWM team are not radiation biologists. Put perhaps too simply, they are using the industry standard model. This model is the one accepted by the nuclear industry and transnational regulatory bodies. The alternative model promoted by anti-nuclear scientists (eg Busby) yields quite different conclusions. Both models can be criticized for being biased.
My personal opinion is that long-term low-level radiation exposure is not well understood scientifically, so I choose to err on the side of caution when it comes to my young child, but not to the point of panicking or getting an ulcer...
best wishes
Cesium Purge
Hi, we have sent several pounds of our Cesium Purge material to Japan for testing. If you are interesting in conducting your own experiment, please feel free to send me an email or contact me at 310 977-0346
Thank you, Gary
no
unfortunatelly.. no
kids exposure through rain and grass
I am the original poster and man do I wish I could ONLY hear back from the researchers! THe rest of you are alarmists I believe. You do realize that although I've read both types of radiation can be absorbed through the skin, they are talking about if you have been directly contaminated, not rained on by highly diluted isotopes. I don't appreciate the alarmist reactions because, and I would imagine I speak for many parents here...you cannot keep your children home from school because it's raining. You cannot keep your teenagers or little ones off of the grass at school. We have to live life and take reasonable precautions. We're staying away from milk for awhile because that's something we can do. It may be extreme and I don't know anyone else doing it but we are for my comfort level. If I were to attempt to keep my kids of off the grass and out of the rain I would be making their lives miserable. And don't tell me it's more important to protect them because at the levels we are seeing in Berkeley right now they are not in danger. I believe the UCB team and they are who I want to hear from. I don't appreciate the unrealistic fear mongering some other posters are handing out. Oh and before you say it, I don't work for the government, I am not a fan of nuclear power, and I am not ignorant. I am a mother trying to stay informed so that I can protect my children. I greatly appreciate the UCB team and am sick of people attacking them. It is clear what they are doing, taking measurements, trying to help and presenting facts when few others will. They are fantastic and if you have issues with them trying to reassure people go find another website, please!
can children absorb radiation from playing in rain/on grass
You guys continue to be amazingly helpful and we thank you so much. Because it is about to rain again here in Berkeley I will bring up a question that has yet to be addressed. Can iodine-131 or cesium at the amounts we are seeing be absorbed through the skin? During the last rains my kids got soaked just from being at school and I didn't make them shower or anything. Kids will also be playing on grass and I have been thinking as long as they don't eat the grass or drink the rainwater that it's OK. Since rainwater has been the most concentrated source so far I was wondering everyone getting wet and if there is any concern. Same with lying on the grass. I want to let my kids live their lives normally and am trying not to worry!
Thank you!!
REMEMBER-THERE IS NO SAFE LEVEL
remember, there is no safe level for radiation, especially for aggressive cesium and iodine that can cause cancer. Judge for yourself.
DO you want your children carry radioactive particles inside them for days/weeks/month?
It takes 5 to 15 years or longer for cancer to manifest, so please judge for yourself.
In our dose calculations, we
In our dose calculations, we assume the most conservative estimate, which is exactly what the previous poster said: "there is no safe level for radiation".
As we've repeatedly said, we're not health professionals of any kind. Our only claim regarding "safety" is this: the risk of cancer that one would receive from drinking the rainwater and eating the grass (if you're so inclined to do) is extremely small compared to the risk of cancer that we accept every time we take an airplane flight.
Given that the risk is so low even if we were to drink the rainwater directly, the risk is even smaller for someone who walks around in the rain without taking a shower afterwards.
Tim [BRAWM Team Member]
Yes, your children should not get soaked in the rain
To answer your questions, but I am not a BRAWN member, yes, Iodine and cesium can and will be absorbed through the skin. therefore, as childern are more at risk, I would advise against them getting soaked. At least they should take a shower later. I am not sure, why the BRAWN team continues to downplay this.
I am an MD, went to medical school at Duke university. Thank you.
Are you a radiologist?
Are you a radiologist?
stay out of the rain, use some commonsense
i agree with what you say, this should not be downplayed in the least. it is beyond silly to compare two different forms of radiation exposure.
that bananas and/or airplane radiation comparison is getting kind of strange and meaningless.
Yes, we have just posted
Yes, we have just posted various food-related samples here:
Food Chain Testing
Mark [BRAWM Team Member]
bravo!
thank you