Universities come through in monitoring for radiation
The amount of radioactive material reaching Washington and the rest of the West Coast from Japan's crippled nuclear reactors is dropping off sharply — but you'd be hard-pressed to know the details if you relied on government agencies for your information.
The public response has been phenomenal, said Kai Vetter, UC Berkeley professor of nuclear engineering. "Many people realize this is the only source of hard data out there — which was a surprise to me."
Scientists from the Department of Energy's (DOE) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland shared some of the initial data from ultrasensitive instruments designed to detect fallout from nuclear tests, but have since declined to make other results public.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014693490_nukemonitors0...
What timing....
I'd like to add that this whole situation is a bit ironic. It comes at a time when the universities across the country are being systematically being dismantled and/or attacked. Whether it's the UC system, the CSU system, the higher ed system in Wisconsin, etc.
Our public institutions of higher education serve such an important function in our society, across the globe. I hope that they can continue to be supported and valued.
LisaT
I don't belittle the
I don't belittle the contribution made by the universities and their students, The EPA and FDA have to deal with actual threats everyday. All of UC Berkeleys data have shown No significant biological hazard, but you backed it up with good numbers, vice the sparse numbers the EPA and FDA gave.Their results were similar, but few and far between. This is a great opportunity for a masters thesis combining Radiological/Nuclear with Education/Psychology. The greatist mystery, to me, is how today, 50 years after great use of nuclear power, people still have no understanding of radiation and radioactivity. I went to a lecture in 1989 at Union college, blaming all missunderstanding on the origional secrecy of nuclear weapons and hence power. I don't believe that. I think the majority or masses of the US refuse to understand anything "technical".
Sorry but if the "technical"
Sorry but if the "technical" test were released to the public then there would be no room for suspicion and experts could interprit results for society.but for some unknown reason the labs and our goverment with this capability are not realeasing data (as article I posted says).the brawn team can only test for so many radionuclides and some of the most sensitive equipment is needed which they don't have .if u have seen otherwise please inform me.
The more sensitive the
The more sensitive the equipment gets, the more irrevelent it becomes. Radiation and radiioactivity has hazards. If I was in Japan, i would be concerened, But I'm not. I'm in the US, 8500 miles and at least 5 days away from any disater. Guam monitoring station 3 day notice and hawaii notice (5 days). Nothing released so far can adversely affect you in the US .
Three CHEERS !!!
Linked: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014693490_nukemonitors06m.html
Qoute: Vetter said the Berkeley team will stay at it as long as public interest remains high.
YES!
The public interest is
The public interest is already "not High", as can be seen from almost all newscasts. There is however a group of core interested people, for whatever reason, who are interested. The students of Nuclear Sciences are (I Hope) the most interested. Even if this is considered by some (experts) to NOT be a nuclear disaster, the psychological effects are enormous. You currently have ~200,000 MOVED OUT OF THEIR HOMES AND REGIONS AS A RESULT OF radioactivity release (sorry caps lock). These people, families and elders are suffering today because of this nuclear release.
i think that's not right
**"The public interest is already "not High", as can be seen from almost all newscasts"**
The newscasts don't reflect public interests, they represent corporate interests.
Just the amount of misinformation from Tepco has been staggering.
I don't think that folks are even aware that the beast over there will be spewing crap for at least 3-4 months, and that's an overly optimistic timeline. Their solution for the 6 month timeline is a big tent to keep the radiation from flowing around, but it doesn't address the continued and ongoing contamination of the sea and the land. It also doesn't address the spewing of chemicals linked to the "cleaning of the water" by that French company, which is supposedly linked to leukemia and other problems.
If there was some actual factual reporting going on, the way that they cover Trump's hair or Oprah's weight or these politicians with less than half a brain, more people would be informed, and then you would see more folks caring. If it's not on the news, most people actually believe that it isn't newsworthy :-(